Space Between
by Davis B.P
Summary: Mal and Evie haven't seen each other in years. It's time to reconnect. Warnings include: sex, drugs, self harm, rape...etc.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Just writing to write. Enjoy.

I own nothing related to Disney, Descendants, Dove or Sofia.

—**—**

"Fuck," the blonde woman said as she accidentally pricked her finger on a small piece of wood sticking out of the bottom her old countertop. She glanced down at the offending object simultaneously sticking her finger in her mouth to stop the blood. The toddler across from her giggled at the sight of her mom's pain. "Well you were bound to have some evil in you." Mal smiled at her daughter before walking over to the high chair and giving her a kiss on her head. The tiny tot had dark brown hair and olive colored skin, a complete contrast to her mom. Mal had dyed her hair blonde years ago but kept some purple streaks. Her pale skin remained the same though. Tanning never worked out for her. The only thing she had passed on to her child were her green eyes. They were equally as electrifying in the smaller set of looking up at her.

"Mama," the small girl said, reaching her arms out to be picked up. Mal rolled her eyes and lifted her from her seat. Breakfast always seemed to go smoother if Mal let her daughter sit on her lap to eat. The blonde grabbed the toddler plate and put it down on the kitchen table, sitting down and adjusting the child on her lap. Immediately she began eating once again, safe and happy in the older woman's arms.

Mal looked around her small apartment. There were toys scattered everywhere along with pictures of Mal and her daughter. A handful of pictures showed her life as a teenager. Evie, Jay and Carlos smiling up at the camera outside of their old home in Auradon. Mal felt her mood quickly decline but shook it off. She hadn't seen them in years. She missed the boys but nothing hurt her more than the loss of her blue-haired best friend. Mal never knew what changed. One day, she and Evie were inseparable; the next, Evie completely shut her out and stopped talking to her. Thinking of her old friends was hard and Mal didn't like doing it.

A piece of egg squished into her chin, snapping her back to reality. "Macie!" Mal snapped as the child giggled once again. She could feel her eyes burn, knowing they were glowing green. Motherhood wasn't easy for Mal; evil still flowed through her blood. Her patience level wasn't as high as most mothers and she lost her temper more than she would like to admit. Standing up, she put the tot down and walked over to the sink to grab a paper towel. She let her eyes cool down, watching her little girl toddle around, picking up toys.

Mal would never forget the moment she found out she would be a mom. She had absolutely no recollection of the night she was conceived nor did she have even the faintest clue who the father was. The drugs that used to make their way through her system made sure of that. That was the moment she stopped being an addict. She didn't care about it anymore. It wasn't easy but the little one growing inside her was far more important than a fix. Months of NA meetings and calls to her sponsor led her to the birth of her tiny daughter. Mal smiled as little at the memory. This was a happy one, one she didn't mind remembering.

"Macie," Mal said causing the toddler to turn around and face her. "It's time for school." Macie laughed and took of running as fast as she could, which wasn't fast considering. Mal scooped her up before grabbing both their bags for the day. She grabbed her coffee off the counter quickly, heading to the front door. "Time for school, school school," she sang cheerfully as she made her way to the car, causing her daughter to laugh once again. Mal bucked her kid into the car seat in the back of her SUV, then circled around, climbing in her own seat. With one quick look at her smiling daughter, she pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing related to Disney, Descendants, Dove or Sofia

—-

Mal arrived at her work earlier than usual. Macie had an easy drop off at daycare and that put her ahead of schedule. She was happy to be able to stop and get a much needed coffee at the coffee cart outside the hospital doors. Walking up to the nurses stations, the blonde waved at her coworkers. The other nurses were sitting at the desk, chatting about their patients.

"Slow day?" Mal asked, arching her eyebrow. She bent down to place her purse in the cabinet.

"Well now it won't be," an older nurse told her. "You know better than to say that."

"Oh it'll be fine, Janet," Mal rolled her eyes at the woman's crazy superstitions. "When was the last time this ER was even busy? It's not like Auradon has a lot of accidents. Mal took a sip of her coffee before continuing, "so what's going on?"

Another nurse picked up her clipboard, "Beds 3&9 are waiting on a doctor for stitches, bed 4 has the flu and it hooked up to fluids, while bed 7 has a broken arm. They are waiting to be taken to surgery to set and cast it."

"Wow, thrilling," Mal nodded. It had been so long since anything out of the ordinary happened. While Mal was glad people were okay, she wished something exciting would happen. She reached into her purse and pulled out a recent picture of her and Macie she had printed out. Reaching up, she pinned the photo onto the board where they kept personal pictures.

"She's gotten so big," the younger nurse, Sofia said. "How old is she now?"

"Almost 2 and a half," Mal smiled, "she gets into everything and talks up a storm. Mostly babbling or random words but it's nice to kind of know what she wants now."

Right as Mal finished her sentence, the phone rang. "Auradon Emergency Room." She listened before sitting up quickly. "Okay." She slammed the phone down, "drug overdose. 3 minutes out." She rushed to her feet and began grabbing the supplies she would need.

"You jinxed us," Janet said, sighing as she had to get up from her seat.

"Yeah, yeah," Mal said as she grabbed two IV bags. Moments later the paramedics burst through the door, pushing a stretcher. Mal couldn't see the patient with all the people surrounding but listened carefully to the shouts. "Female. 22 years old. Found passed out in the park. Suspected drug Overdose. Started an IV in the ambulance. We gave her Narcan right before we pulled up."

Mal walked over to the stretcher to hang the fluids but the bright blue hair covering the pillow stopped her in her tracks. "Oh my god," Mal dropped the 2 bags of saline she was holding. "Evie."

"You know her?" Sofia asked her as she quickly hooked her up to the machines to monitor her.

"I used to," Mal said quietly before the doctor pushed her out of the way.

"Well you either need to put your feelings aside and help or leave," the doctor snapped at her.

Mal shook her head "right, of course." She moved to Evie's head and hooked the saline bags up on the pole before attaching them to the IV that had been started in her arm. She didn't take her eyes off her old friend when she started the flow of the liquid. All of a sudden, Evie's monitors started yelling at them before flat lining. "Fuck," Mal exclaimed.

"Code Blue," the doctor yelled, pushing the button on the wall. Moments later a crush cart appeared being pushed by Janet. Mal grabbed the pads and once the doctor ripped open her shirt, she stuck them to her chest. The doctor picked up the paddles.

"Charge to 200," he demanded. The whirl of the machine let them know it was working. "Clear," the doctor yelled, placing the paddles on the pads. Mal steppes back with her hands up to show she wasn't touching Evie. The blue haired woman jerked as the electricity shot through her body. Mal looked up at the monitor. Still flat.

"Please," Mal silently begged.

"Charge to 250," the doctor said. "Clear," once again Mal brought her hands up. The electricity shot through Evie's body once again, this time causing her heart rhythm to begin again. Mal let out the breathe she didn't even know she was holding. Tears fell from her eyes as she grabbed her old friend's hand.

"We have to get her stable and up to the ICU," the doctor stated, not much emotion in his voice. Mal knee he had no sympathy for drug addicts. "Push more Narcan and get her ready to move. She will be lucky to make it though the night." The doctor turned to Mal, "any idea her drug of choice?"

Mal shook her head. "I haven't seen her in a few years." The blondes hand's were shaking. "I can stay with her."

"You are not the nurse on this case, Mal," the doctor said sharply. "We don't treat family or friends. You know that."

Mal just nodded. She knew she wouldn't be allowed but it was worth a shot.

"Go check on the other patients and we will get your friend set up in the ICU. We will monitor overnight and see where she is in the morning." The doctor wasn't asking or giving Mal any sort of choice. It was an order. Mal slowly let go of Evie's hand, staring at her face. She looked the same but older, more tired. She was much thinner than Mal remembered but she was unmistakable. It took all of her strength to turn around and walk out of the room. Once she was back at the nurses station she took a deep breath, willing herself to not cry more. "Please," She silently begged again, "please let her be okay."


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything.

—

"Thank you for watching her tonight. I have to work late," Mal said into her phone, pacing around the room. She glanced over at Evie's sleeping body. There hadn't been any change in the last few hours. "Yes, she needs a bath tonight. She can eat whatever is in the fridge. I'm not sure when I'll be home. Thank you again." Mal hung up the phone, thankful she had a couple people she trusted with her daughter.

Mal resumed her position at the side of Evie's bed, taking her hand once again. She ran her thumb up and down the back of the Evie's delicate hand, hoping that her presence would wake her. "Evie, come one, please wake up. There's so much we need to talk about." Mal felt the tears start to fall as she spoke. "Where have you been? Why did you do this? What happened?" Mal asked out loud, knowing there wouldn't be an answer.

Mal couldn't believe her old best friend was in the hospital bed, fighting for her life. The last time she had seen her, Evie was happy, living in her beautiful house, her fashion business booming. Well technically that wasn't true. That's how Evie was on the outside. Something had changed with her, though. Those last moments the girls had been together, Evie told her to get out of her life. That was what threw Mal into her own battle with drugs. Losing her best friend broke her heart. She felt completely lost. "Maybe that's what happened to Evie," Mal thought.

The blonde glanced over at the monitors and watched the numbers for a moment. She heard a groan coming from the woman in the bed. Mal snapped her eyes back to her friend. "Evie," Mal said quickly, standing over her. "Evie!" Mal said again. There was no movement. "Damn it!" Mal grabbed a cup of water from the table and threw it against the wall.

Mal walked out of the room, willing herself to breathe and she broke down in sobs in the hallway.

"Mal, are you okay?" One of the nurses asked.

"What do you think?" The blonde snapped through tears. "She's going to die and I have to just watch it!" She yelled.

The nurse rushed over to the distraught woman. "Mal, you have to calm down. Breathe."

Mal jerked away from the women. "Just..." Mal paused for a moment, "just leave me alone." Mal walked away and headed down the hall. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going but she needed to be alone. She walked into one of the supply closets and let herself break down. The sobs tore through her body until she completely shaking. A few minutes later she made herself calm down. Taking deep breaths, she steadied her shaking and wiped the tears away. Mal pulled out her phone and quickly got the FaceTime icon.

"Hey, Mal, you okay?" Her friend answered the video chat.

"Um yeah. Can I see Macie for a few minutes?"

"Of course," her friend spun the phone around and Mal could see her toddler, her face covered in a bright red sauce."

"Hi, baby," Mal forced a smile, laughing a little at the mess of her daughter. "Are you having fun?"

"Mama," Macie said, stuffing her face more with the food on her plate.

"Aunt Chloe gave you spaghetti, I see," Mal laughed through her sniffles.

"Pasgetti," Macie replied, holding up some of the noddles to show her mom.

"Are you being good?" Mal asked. Macie nodded in reply. "Okay, good. Listen to Aunt Chloe okay? I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

Macie nodded "Love you," She absentmindedly said as she continued to consume her dinner. Mal laughed as Chloe turned the phone back around.

"You sure you're okay, M?" Chloe asked, her face full of concerned.

Mal nodded, fighting the tears falling at the sound of Evie's name for her. "I'm okay. Just...please don't call me that." Mal quickly hung up the phone call. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself once again before walking out of the closet and making her way back to Evie's room. She was halfway down the hall when she saw commotion in Evie's ICU room. Mal took off running, sliding when she reached the crowd.

"What's going on?" she yelled, pushing through. She looked at Evie and saw the dark brown eyes staring back at her.

"Mal?" Evie asked, shock and surprise covering her face. "How?" Evie's voice was barely above a whisper, cracking as she got the words out.

"I work here," was all Mal could think to say. Multiple doctors and nurses crowded around the blue haired woman, taking vitals and running tests. The two old friends never took their eyes of each other's.

"You are very lucky," the doctor told Evie, who quickly shifted her gaze to the man in the white coat. Evie just nodded. "What did you take?" Evie closed her eyes for a second then caught Mal's gaze once again. She continued to remain quiet.

"Evie, he already knows the answer, he just wants to confirm it." Mal told her.

"Coke," Evie whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay, thank you," the doctor replied, making a note in her chart. "You need to stay here for a couple days and then you will be required to complete a detox program here in the hospital."

Evie just nodded, looking down at her hands, picking at the blanket.

"We will be back in a little while to check on you again," the doctor said, leading the hospital staff out of the room, leaving Mal and Evie alone.

The girls locked eyes for a moment, Mal's anger toward the woman building now that she knew her old friend was okay. "Do you have anyone you want me to call?" Mal asked, staying rooted in her spot, not moving any closer.

"No," Evie replied.

"Okay," Mal said back, tension filling the air.

"You can come closer," Evie told her.

Mal shook her head. "The last time I saw you, you told me to get out of your life," Mal crossed her arms across her chest. "Remember?"

Evie nodded, "I remember," she responded quietly.

Mal waited for more to come out of Evie's mouth. It didn't take long for her to realize there was no more than would be said. "Why?" Mal asked, daringly.

"This isn't a conversation we need to have," Evie snapped coldly.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mal's voice rose. "Evie, we were best friends. We did everything together. Told each other everything. Then one day you just changed and told me to go. I deserve to know why."

"That was years ago, it doesn't matter why."

Mal took a deep breath, "you ruined me, Evie. You completely broke me."

Evie squared her eyes, "You're a nurse, you're clearly doing just fine."

"Yeah and do you know what it took for me to be here? The drugs I took? The people I slept with? The damage I did to myself in the fucking process?" Mal snapped. "The only thing that saved me was..." Mal stopped quickly. She had no desire to discuss her daughter with her former friend. "Forget it." Mal spun and walked out the door.

She took a few deep breaths outside of Evie's room. The other woman was calling for her to come back. Mal tried her hardest to ignore it but she just couldn't. She turned around and stood in the doorway. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Mal. I really am." Evie looked so distraught. It didn't help that she had wires everywhere. Mal could just make out her thin frame under the blankets.

"Why did you do it?" Mal asked again, pushing for answers.

"Mal, please," Evie begged. "Please."

"No," Mal demanded. "Tell me."

Evie sighed, tears spilling over, running down her face. "The night before we saw each other last. Do you remember it?"

Mal nodded slowly. She sort of remembered it. There was a ball of some sort. She didn't remember all the details from the evening. She had been drinking and she had done a lot of drugs since then. "Vaguely. The 4 of us went together. There was alcohol." Mal pauses, racking her brain for the memory. "Umm...you didn't feel very good so you left early. Offered to take you home but you told me to stay and have fun." Mal threw her hands up. "That's all I remember."

"I remember every single detail perfectly." Evie's tears were falling faster now. "I...um...I made it about halfway home before I was grabbed. He made some remarks about how revealing my dress was when he pushed me against a tree." Evie's voice was barely above a whisper but Mal could hear every word. "He ripped my dress and threw me on the ground. And then...he...," Evie broke down in sobs. Mal rushed over to her, pulling her close.

"Evie, why didn't you tell me?" Mal questioned, running her fingers through the soft, blue hair.

Evie pushed herself back a little so brown eyes could meet green. "I don't know. I shut down. I couldn't deal. I pushed everyone away."

Mal tucked Evie's hair behind her ear. "Is that how you ended up alone? On drugs?"

Evie nodded. "Mal?"

Mal's lips curled into a small, concerned smile. "Yeah?"

"I'm tired," Evie replied, her eyes starting to look heavy.

"You've been through a lot," the blonde told her. "Try to sleep a little before the nurse comes through to check on you." Mal stood up to move the chair over. "I'll be right here." She intertwined their fingers so Evie could feel her presence as she drifted back to sleep, the medication she was given taking effect.

Mal's brain on the other hand was moving a mile a minute. All these years she had been so furious with her friend for shutting her out, for kicking her to the curb. Mal had never spent the time or energy to find out why. She had just left. Walked away. She let her anger and hurt get the best of her. A couple tears fell as she realized just how awful the situation was, how bad it must've been for Evie.

Mal looked up at the sleeping princess. She looked so peaceful. "I'm right here, E. I'm not going anywhere," she promised.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything relating to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

—

Mal woke up when a nurse came into the room. At some point in the night, Evie had been shaking so Mal climbed into the bed with her. She looked down and saw the mess of blue splayed out her chest.

"Evie, wake up," Mal gently shook the woman awake. "The nurse needs to check your vitals."

"Again?" Evie half grumped, half snapped. It had been 12 hours since she had a fix and her attitude was getting worse.

"Yes." Mal rolled her eyes, standing up from the bed. "They do it every couple hours."

Evie sat up, anger covering her features. Mal watched and smiled at the angry woman in the bed. She remembered the attitude she had when she was going through withdrawal. It wasn't pleasant. She kept threatening to turn into a dragon and fly away. At least Evie didn't have that option.

Mal stretched and checked her scrub pockets for her keys. "Will you be okay for a couple hours, E? I have an errand to run."

Evie looked at her. "The sun is barely up. Where do you have to go?"

Mal looked back at her friend. She debating lying to the woman. She really wasn't sure she wanted Evie to know about Macie. Mal was about to speak when she got lost in Evie's eyes. Those eyes that always made her tell the truth. Those eyes were the reason Evie always knew everything about her. She struggled to lie to them. "I...umm..." Mal ran her hands through her blonde hair.

"Mal?" Evie asked.

"I have to go get my daughter and take her to school." Mal dropped her arms down beside her.

"You have a daughter?" Evie asked slowly.

Mal nodded, "I do. I'm already late to get her from my friend's. Can we do this later?" Mal walked over to Evie, kissed her on the top of the head and waved goodbye. She didn't have the energy for that conversation. She needed coffee first. Luckily for her the hospital coffee cart was always open. Mal grabbed a quick cup and walked to her car, settling in before letting herself fully breathe. She was so happy Evie was okay but what did this mean for her life. Would Evie stick around once she was clean? Would Mal get some of her family back? The tiny woman shook the thoughts out of her head and switched the gears into drive.

Macie was still passed out when Mal arrived to get her. She scooped her tiny daughter up and held her close to her chest. Macie shifted a little but didn't wake up. Mal wasn't surprised though. Due to her nursing schedule, Macie spent a lot of time being shuffled around while she slept. It wasn't long before they were home and Mal finally had to wake the sleeping beauty.

"Hey, baby," Mal said. Gently stroking Macie's hair until she finally opened her eyes.

"Mama," Macie smiled, rubbing at her face.

"Hi, beautiful." Mal unbuckled her car seat and picked her up. "Did you have fun with Aunt Chloe?" Macie nodded and rested her head on Mal's shoulders. "Are you ready for school?" Macie nodded again and wiggled to get down as Mal led them into their apartment. Macie immediately tore off to her bedroom and by the time Mal made it in there too, Macie had pulled out half the clothes she owned and was trying to pull a purple dress over her head.

"Purple today, huh?" Mal asked, walking over to help her.

"Like you!" Macie smiled, running her hands through the purple streaks in Mal's hair.

Mal laughed at her, "Okay then. Play for a minute while I go make you breakfast, okay?" Macie nodded and Mal went back into the kitchen. She grabbed an apple, some strawberries and some grapes and cut them all into tiny bite sized pieces. Then she put a little bit of yoghurt into a bowl and placed both items on the high chair. "Mace, breakfast time." The tiny toddler ran in and Mal quickly got her settled into her high chair. "Eat please," she pointed before walking over to the laundry room and grabbing a fresh pair of jeans and a t shirt. She wasn't at work today so she could spend the day with Evie. She got changed and ran a brush through her hair. Once she was ready and Macie had managed to eat half of her breakfast, Mal started to brush Macie's hair and get it all fixed for the day. Grapes kept flying at Mal's head while she did this. Macie didn't like her hair being touched. Two identical pigtails finally sat upon her head.

"Are you all done?" Mal asked, receiving a nod in reply. "Okay, we gotta do teeth and then it's time to go." Mal lifted Macie out of the high chair and followed her daughter as she raced off to the bathroom.

Once they were brushed and ready to go, Mal grabbed Macie's hand and they headed off to the car.

Another quick drop off meant Mal was back at the hospital quicker than she had anticipated. She grabbed yet another coffee on her way inside. She knew the conversations she would be having with Evie would be hard ones, not the mention the attitude that would be fueled by her friend's withdrawal.

Taking a deep breathe the pushed open the ICU door and saw Evie sitting up in bed, staring into space. When she heard the door open she immediately yelled. "You have a daughter?"

"Hi to you too," Mal rolled her eyes, walking over to the chair. "I'm not having this conversation with you if you yell." Mal was very protective Macie.

"Sorry," Evie looked down for a moment. "I didn't mean to."

"I know," Mal replied simply.

"So, daughter?" Evie asked a few moments later.

"I do. She's 2." Mal responded.

"How?" Evie asked.

"Pretty much the usually way," Mal shrugged.

"I..right..." Evie chucked. "I mean...are you married?"

"No," Mal answered quickly, "I don't really do relationships. I can't really find the right person I guess." Mal carefully used the word person instead of man since the changes of Mal ever actually being with a man again was slim.

"So who's the dad?" Evie asked.

"I don't know and I don't really care."

"Mal, you can't let her grow up the way you did."

"Watch me," Mal stood up, crossing her arms in the process. "Besides, I've always known where Hades was, he just didn't want anything to do with me. Macie's dad doesn't know she exists."

"Macie?" Evie questioned, "I'm surprised you didn't name her Malvie or something to keep the tradition going."

"I wanted to keep the M but get the "bad" part out." Mal shrugged.

"I like it. I'm sure she is beautiful." Evie told her, closing her eyes for a moment.

Mal watched her movements carefully. Everyone from the Isle reacted different during withdrawal. Mal's had been hard because of the dragon in her. She had no idea how Evie's would be since she had witch blood. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak," Evie answered her.

Mal walked over and check the woman's IV. Then she walked over to the computer and logged on to see what medications they had her own. "It's no wonder you're weak, E. These medicines should have you knocked out. I'm guessing their plan for your detox is to have you sleep it off." Mal rolled her eyes a little knowing that Evie wouldn't be sleeping soon as the drugs left her system. It was painful and Evie would be throwing up and shaking within a matter of hours.

"Why don't you try to sleep, okay? Unfortunately you're in for a rough next 24 hours or so as you detox."

"I don't want to detox." Evie said stubbornly. "I never said I wanted to stop using."

"You almost died," Mal snapped.

"So?" Evie asked back.

"Did you want to die? Was this some sort of fucked up suicide attempt?"

"Of course not," Evie threw back at her.

"Then you will detox and deal with it."

"I have no where to go if I'm clean. No money, no friends." Evie challenged.

"Well if you can manage to get clean, you can stay with me. I'm warning you though, drugs do not go around my daughter. One wrong move and I'll toss your ass outside."

Evie nodded but didn't speak.

"Now get some sleep. I'll be right here." Mal walked back over to the chair and sat down while Evie snuggled back down into the covers. Evie reached her hand over and wrapped it around Mal's arm before falling asleep. Mal could feel the delicate hand shaking. Withdrawal wasn't something Mal would wish on anyone. She sighed before picking up her phone and turning on the tv to pass the time before hell broke loose.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own anything relating to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

—

Evie spent the majority of the day in and out of sleep, throwing up in the bedpan Mal kept cleaning. It was disgusting but she knew she couldn't leave the miserable woman alone. While Evie slept, Mal caught up on much needed relaxing it. Normally on her days off she was running errands and wrangling a 2 year old. With Evie in the hospital, she just got to hang out and watch tv. Not that her anxiety let her relax much but it beat running around town all day.

Mal knew she would need sleep at some point. She was exhausted. She glanced over at the hospital bed and saw Evie was still sound asleep. Mal shut off the tv and made her way out of the room, carefully shutting the heavy door. Evie had been moved out of the ICU into a regular room now that she had completely stabilized.

Making her way down the very familiar halls, Mal snuck her way around until she had come to the on call rooms. She slipped inside and locked the door behind her. She needed sleep. She needed her brain to shut off for 5 minutes. Mal didn't even bother to take her jeans off, she just collapsed down into the bed.

It hadn't even been an hour before Mal was awoken by a knock at the door. "I'm sleeping," she yelled, cursing the person outside.

"Mal?" A women's voice spoke. It was Sofia. "It's your friend. She's-"

Before Sofia could finish the sentence, Mal was tearing out the door and down the hallway, almost running into the door trying to get it open. She saw Evie sitting up in the bed.

"What the hell?" Mal asked, trying to catch her breath. "I thought something was wrong."

"It is wrong," Evie snarled back, her normal contagious smile gone. "This shit is disgusting." She pointed at the food that was sitting in front of her.

Mal simple rolled her eyes and waved the nurses out of the room. "Well don't eat it then, princess."

"Excuse me?" Evie glared daggers into Mal.

"What? You don't like it, don't eat it," Mal shrugged, sitting down in the chair at the end of the bed. "We both know what you really want to anyway."

"Then give me some!" Evie demanded.

Mal laughed, "yeah that's not going to happen. You're more than welcome to be a bitch and throw whatever tantrums you like. You'll be better in the long run."

"Go to hell," Evie snapped. Mal just ignored her. Evie started trying to get out of the bed but Mal immediately stopped her.

"I will have them restrain you if you don't sit your ass down."

Evie stared at her for a full minute, challenging the threat before slowly returning to the bed.

"So, you want to tell me what's got you so pissed off?" Mal asked, returning to her chair, propping her feet up on the edge of the bed.

"You took my drugs," Evie replied.

"Yeah, no I didn't. I'm just not giving you more," Mal simply stated. "How about you try a new answer? Maybe one that doesn't involve your coke habit?" Mal knew she was pushing Evie but she didn't care. It was better to get all that anger out anyway.

"What do you want from me?" Evie questioned. "You left."

"You told me to. You told me to leave you alone. Forever. Or do you not remember?" Mal felt the smallest tears starting to form in her eyes but she pushed them away.

"Why did you listen to me? You didn't even try!" Evie yelled.

Mal stood up suddenly. "Are you fucking kidding me? I called you. I texted you. I sat outside your house and banged on the door for so long that security escorted me off the property. I did literally every single thing I could think of." Tears were falling now. "There was only so much I could do. I had to give up. I had to walk away."

Evie sat for a second before responding. "You left me," she said almost silently. "You let him...you didn't..." Evie let the words drift off.

"That wasn't my fault, E." Mal tried to reason. "You didn't want me to walk you home that night. I asked."

"I had my reasons," Evie snapped suddenly.

Mal wiped the tears from her eyes, "which were?" She asked, intrigued by this new piece of information.

Evie turned to face the window, looking out over Auradon. "I knew that if you walked me home that night that I would do something I shouldn't."

Mal raised her eyebrow in confusion, "like what?"

"Kiss you."

Mal felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks. This was all too much for her brain. "Oh," was all she could muster back.

"Don't act like you didn't know."

"I..I didn't," Mal told her, not completely telling the truth. She knew Evie had always liked her. She just never knew what to do about it.

"You're a liar," Evie snapped.

"Do not call me a liar!" Mal snapped right back.

"Why not? You are lying." Evie narrowed her eyes. "You knew full well how I felt about you. Hell, everyone did. You were just too afraid to admit it to yourself."

The girls went quiet again as Evie's last words hung in the air.

The silence in the room was almost deafening when Sofia finally came in to check on Evie. "I figured since the yelling stopped, it would be an okay time." She looked back and forth between the two woman, unable to read their faces. "Um, okay then. Evie, I just wanted to let you know they are moving you to detox tomorrow. It's in the east wing of this building. An orderly will be by to walk you over there in the morning." Evie and Mal both nodded. Sofia glanced between them again and walked out of the room.

Mal crossed her arms across her chest, chewing her lip a moment before she spoke again. "I won't be able to see you for 24 hours. It's mandatory with detox," Mal explained.

"Great," Evie replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"If you don't want me there then I won't come again. Do what you want." Mal headed for the door. "You want to blame me for being raped? Fine. You want to act like you weren't the one who ended our friendship instead of talking to me. Fine."

Evie sat in the bed, unable to speak. Mal could see the thoughts in her head spinning but no words came out.

"Good luck, Evie," and with that, Mal walked out the door. A loud crash cams from inside her room and the blonde knew Evie had thrown her tray across the room. Mal started to turn back, to check on the girl but she couldn't do it. With a deep breath she walked down the hall and away from her former friend.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own anything relating to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

—

Mal sat on her bed, flipping through old photo albums. Macie slept curled up into her mom, completely passed out. The older woman flipped through the pages of the book. She stopped on a page that has pictures of their very first day at Auradon prep. Mal traced photos with her fingers, memories flooding her brain. She would never forget Carlos and Jay stuffing their faces with everything they could find, or Evie trying rock candy for the first time, nearly breaking her tooth.

She flipped through a few more pages, chuckling a little at just how purple her hair once was. A couple more pages later, her own face pressed against Evie's, giant grins on there faces as they ate ice cream. Finally she came to the picture she had been searching for. The last picture Evie and Mal had taken together. There they stood with Jay and Carlos the night of the ball. They all looked so happy, no idea everything would be completely different the following day. Once Evie and Mal fell out, Mal fell away from the boys too. She broke up with Ben and moved away a couple months later. Auradon wasn't that big but she had moved as far away as she could, even spending some time back on the Isle.

The cell phone on her nightstand started to ring. Mal grabbed it quickly, looking at her sleeping daughter. Macie shifted a little but stayed asleep.

"Hello?" Mal said as quietly as she could.

"Mal, I'm really sorry to bother you at work but we kind of have a situation here with your friend."

Mal sighed, "what kind of situation?"

"Well they have moved her down to detox but she is completely freaking out. I guess one of the male nurses tried to search her for drugs. I'm not entirely sure but they asked if I could call you."

Mal looked over at her daughter. "What am I supposed to do about it? Macie is fast asleep." Mal had zero desire to wake her child up from a nap, especially to help a women who blamed her for being raped.

The other woman paused for a moment. "Can you bring Macie with you? She can hang out at the nurses desk with us for a little while."

Mal hesitated. She didn't leave her kid with many people. "Are you guys sure you can't calm her down? We aren't even friends anymore."

"They are going to kick her out of the program if she doesn't calm down."

Mal glanced over at her kid once again, debating her choices. "Fine, I'll be there as soon as I can." With that, she clicked the end button on her phone and sat up.

"Macie, baby," Mal gently shook the small girl. Macie groaned in response. "I know baby." Mal gently scooped up her only love and carried her to the car before strapping her into the car seat. Mal was trying so hard to not let her frustrations out at the entire situation. Evie wasn't her problem to deal with. Mal felt her eyes glow green and heat up as she drove. She tried her hardest to calm them but was struggling. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she saw the only thing that mattered to her, snoozing away without a care in the world. Mal felt her eyes cooling down as she shifted her eyes from the mirror back to the road. She continued to take deep breaths until they pulled into the parking lot. Undoing what she had done only minutes before, Mal unbuckled Macie from the car seat, holding her close as she made her way inside.

"Hi, Mal," a couple of the administrative staff said as she walked passed them and headed to the nurses station.

"Hey," Sofia said, waving. "I guess they called you in?"

"Yep. Perfect Mal here to save the day," Mal rolled her eyes. "Can you watch her? She will probably stay asleep. She's really tired." Mal passed her daughter over to her friend, placing Macie's backpack down next to her. "Diapers, snacks, all that jazz are in the bag."

Sofia nodded in understanding. Macie snuggled into Sofia's shoulder, still completely oblivious to the world around her. Mal brushed the tiny locks of hair out of her child's face before kissing her goodbye. "I won't be long," Mal stated.

With that, she turned around and headed over to the drug unit of the hospital. Mal had no idea why this part even existed. They rarely had people there. While there was a small drug problem in certain parts, it certainly wasn't newsworthy.

Mal pushed open the set of doors before flashing her nurses badge and walking through the second set. "Hi, Fred," Mal waved at the security guard. "Where is she?"

Fred pointed down the hallway, "2nd door on the left."

Mal simple nodded and walked in the direction he pointed. She glanced in the window of the room and saw the blue haired woman just sitting on the bed in a trance.

"Here goes nothing," Mal whispered to herself right before pushing the door open.

"Mal?" Evie said quietly, looking up at the intruder.

"I was asked to come help." Mal walked slightly closer to the bed. "On my day off no less. To help someone who doesn't want my help."

"M..." Evie's started.

"No." Mal snapped, "You do not get to call me that."

Evie just nodded. Mal took this moment to really look at the other girl. Her hair was wet, soaked in sweat. Her tiny frame engulfed in the hospital gown she was wearing. Her eyes were slightly sunken in and the dark circles under her eyes made her look dead.

"You look like hell," Mal told her.

"I feel it."

Silence engulfed the room, neither knowing what to say. It was Mal who finally broke the silence. "You need to let them check you out. They need to make sure you don't have any drugs on you."

"He touched me," Evie simply said.

"Yeah that's kind of the point," Mal said, clearly missing the point of Evie's words. "He has to check and make sure you don't have any coke anywhere so you can complete detox." Mal moved closer and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Can you do it?" Evie asked her, her eyes darker than normal.

"I'm not a drug nurse, Evie. I work in the ER. There is protocol."

"Screw protocol, Mal." Evie said harshly.

"No," Mal rebutted, "that's not what is happening here. I came in on my day off. I had to bring my sleeping toddler up here to help you."

"Your kid is here?" Evie's asked. Mal nodded. "Can I see her?"

Mal's eyes widen in surprise at the ridiculousness of the question. "No, Evie. I know it's shocking but my toddler isn't allowed in the drug ward."

"Right."

Silence encroached again. "Look, you need to let them help you. And I need to get Macie back home to bed to finish her nap. Understand?" Mal practically demanded. Evie just nodded, tears forming in her eyes.

"I just thought it might be easier if a friend checked me. That's all."

Mal cleared her throat, "we aren't friends Evie. We just used to know each other as kids."

"Mal..." Evie looked down, picking at her nails.

"Look, Evie, you and I don't know each other anymore. I don't know about you but I'm not the person you knew when we were younger." Mal stood up and walked over to the side of the bed. "You need to figure your shit out. It's not my responsibility to fix that. It's on you."

"I didn't ask you to fix me!" Evie snapped.

"No, you just had them call me in because you refuse to go through detox!"

"That's not why I freaked out. It wasn't some twisted plan to get you here. Mal, it was a guy. A guy I don't know wanting to take off my clothes and feel around for drugs."

Mal stared at the other woman for a moment before the realization hit her. "Oh." Evie nodded slowly.

"Did you ask for a female nurse?"

"They told me there weren't any working today in this unit." Evie told her.

"Ugh," Mal groaned. "Give me a minute." She walked out of the room and headed back over the nurses station. "Will you please make a note in Evie's chart to say that only female nurses can interact with her? As well as note that I'm going to do the check and get her settled?"

Sofia nodded. Mal looked over and saw that Sofia had made a pallet on the floor and that her daughter was still completely asleep, not even the commotion disturbing her. "Thanks," Mal said, "for that too." She pointed down at the sleeping child. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Once she made it back to Evie's room, she instructed the blue haired woman to stand up. Even barefoot, she was taller than Mal. "Clothes off," she told her. Evie did as she was instructed. Mal quickly searched her to make sure she wasn't hiding anything in her underwear as well as making a mental note of any marks on the woman's body. "Alright, you look clean," Mal waved her hand, indicating that Evie could put on the hospital scrubs she was given.

"Thank you," Evie told her once she was dressed.

"Yep," Mal responded coldly. "You're all set. I had them make a note about female nurses so you should be good to go. Good luck." She turned to leave and Evie spoke again.

"Please don't leave me."

"Why not? You blame me for what happened to you. Somehow me not being able to see the future meant you got hurt." Mal chewed on her lip.

"I didn't mean to blame you," Evie told her. Moments later she ran to the bathroom and vomited the little amount she had eaten. Mal rushes in behind her and held her hair, rubbing her back until the feeling passed. Evie sat down on the floor, tears in her eyes. "I hate this."

"Yeah, I remember how it felt. It was some of the worst days of my life." Mal sat down next to Evie's, clasping her hands together in her lap.

"What made you stop?"

Mal smiled, "Macie."

"I don't think I'll be taking that approach," Evie chuckled.

"It's hard. Being clean is hard. But it's worth it. I look back at the person I was when I was using. I'm ashamed of her."

"Yeah. I get that." Evie told her.

"You've got the hard part over with." Mal pointed a the toilet, "Well mostly."

"You think so?"

"The first few days are the hardest to ignore the cravings. It'll get easier."

"Really?"

"No," Mal laughed. "It'll be easier to find other things to do though."

"I do miss designing." Evie shrugged. "All the money I got from that, I used on drugs."

"Look, the offer to stay with me is still there, even if we aren't friends." Mal told her, looking into her brown eyes. "Someone has to help you get back on your feet. Might as well be me."

"Thanks, Mal."

"Anytime." 

"I want us to be friends again. I miss you." Evie said almost silently.

"I miss you too, Evie but I don't know if can trust you. I understand what happened to you and why you did it but you cut me out of your life. You ended our friendship with no explanation. You were my family. Those scars may never heal."

Mal stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. Evie looked up at her. "I know."

Mal reached out her hand after a few moments and helped her up, guiding her back to her bed. The taller woman was still very shaking and unsteady on her feet.

"I really have to get Macie home," Mal looked over at the door. "Will you be alright?"

"It's not like I have a choice." Evie told her.

"I'll check on your tomorrow then." Mal waved to Evie before walking out the door. Her heart hurt and she could feel her eyes glowing green. The pain she was feeling caused her body to react. Seeing the person she once cared about more than anything else hurting like that was hard. Mal closed her eyes and took deep breaths, willing her eyes to calm down. Finally she felt her face cool and she walked back to the nurses station where she had left her kid.

"Thanks again, Sofia," Mal told her as she scooped up her daughter once again. "I owe you one."


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own anything related to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

—

Mal stopped outside her apartment door and turned to Evie, "I'm sorry it's a mess." She put the key in the door and pushed it open. The blonde let the taller woman walk in first. They stood the living room, awkwardly looking around.

"Um, so this is the living room." Mal walked forward a little bit. "That's the kitchen. Sorry it's so small."

"That's okay," Evie told her. "I don't really cook much anymore."

"Right," Mal said, walking further into the apartment. "So that's my room and that's Macie's." She pointed to the 2 rooms across from each other. "Oh and that's the bathroom." Mal lead her in and switched on the light. "I got you a toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush. I didn't know what kind of shampoo and conditioner you used now so I got what you used when we were younger." Mal pointed to the 2 bottles on the edge of the tub.

"Wow." Evie stuttered, "thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Mal smiled, "Don't worry about it."

The girls looked at each other for a moment before Mal decided to continue with the tour.

"I put Macie in with me so you can have her room. I'm sorry I don't have more than an inflatable mattress right now." Mal chewed at her lip. She felt like a jacked up tour guide. She hated people in her home. It made her uneasy.

"The air mattress is fine. Thank you. You didn't have to move Macie though. I could've slept on the couch." Evie gestured towards the sofa in the living room. "It looks comfy."

"It is but a bed is better. Even if it's an air one. Macie usually ends up in my bed anyway in the middle of the night. She likes to be near me when I'm at home." Mal shrugged and headed back to the kitchen. "I have my own bathroom so don't worry about taking too long in the shower or anything."

Evie nodded, following her caretaker into the small kitchen.

Mal grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and offered one to the blue haired girl. They each sat down at the kitchen table and awkwardly looked around the room again. Evie noticed all the toys in the living room.

"Where's Macie? She can be here when I'm here..." Evie trailed off sadly.

"Yes," Mal laughed, "I know she can. She's with her Aunt Chloe. They will be home in a little bit. I figured it would be easier to get you settled without a toddler asking you a thousand questions."

"Right," Evie giggled. "So who's Chloe? Is she your girlfriend?"

Mal almost spit out her water, "oh, no definitely not." She grabbed a napkin and wiped her face. "She's just one of my best friends. She's known Macie since she was born and keeps her a lot when I work."

Mal could see the slight pain in Evie's eyes at the words 'best friend.' "That's really great, Mal. It looks like you've managed a pretty good life for yourself." Evie took a sip of her water, continuing to look around. The blonde saw her gaze shift to the pictures on the bookshelf. "Have you talked to the boys lately?"

Mal shook her head, "no, I stopped talking to them not look after you and I split. Last I heard, Carlos was in school to be a vet and Jay owned a pawn shop. That was a year or so ago though."

"Oh." Quiet engulfed the girls again. "So do you have a boyfriend?"

Mal chucked at this. Evie had always been convinced they needed princes to be happy. "Yeah, I don't really do dating," she used her fingers as quotations on the last word. '_Or guys for that matter_,' Mal thought. She didn't say it out loud though. That was a conversation for another day.

"I guess you're pretty busy with your job and kid, huh?"

Mal nodded, drinking even more of her water. Her throat was so dry. "Yeah, I don't get a lot of time to just hang out. When I do, there's usually a toddler attached."

"Can I ask who the dad is?" Evie asked her.

"You can, but it doesn't mean I'll tell you." Mal narrowed her eyes at the other woman, causing Evie's eyes to go big in embarrassment. "I'm just kidding." Evie let out a sign of relief. "I don't have a clue who he was. I don't remember the night at all. It's all completely gone."

"Wow."

Mal just nodded. Silence encroached yet again. The blonde had no idea what to say or how to talk to Evie anymore. It had been so easy when they lived together. Now it was like a stranger was sitting across from her.

"So have you been doing since I saw you years ago?" Mal asked, trying to break the silence.

"Drugs," Evie simply answered.

Mal laughed, "Yes I know that. What else?"

Evie glanced down at her hands. She missed the gloves she used to wear. "That's about it, honestly. I've done a lot of drugs, a few questionable things for drugs and hung out with drug dealers."

Mal nodded. "I understand. What about your mom? Do you ever see her? I saw her a couple times when I was living on the Isle."

Evie shook her head, "No. The last time I saw her I was stealing her money. She has no desire to see me again."

"Surely a villain could understand desperation." Mal told her with a smile, trying to make Evie feel better.

"You would think." Evie replied. "What about your mom? Is she still a lizard?"

Mal laughed and walked over to a shelf in the living room. There sat Maleficent in her reptile tank. "She would've loved to hear Macie call her Grandma." Mal laughed.

"Oh I'm sure you encourage that, don't you?" Evie giggled, walking over to the lizard.

"Maybe a little bit." Mal smiled.

"Can you imagine her face? I'm sure she would've insisted on being called something "younger sounding" like Gigi."

"And I would still encourage grandma," Mal scrunched up her nose and laughed.

Mal walked over to the couch and flipped on the tv. After a few seconds, Evie joined her. "I don't think there is anything good one, sadly." Mal flipped through the channels before landing on Family Guy.

"Oh, I like this show," Evie smiled.

The pair sat and watched tv for the next hour, letting themselves loosen up around each other again.

Knock knock

"Oh, that must be Chloe," Mal smiled, getting up to answer the door. "Hi, baby," she smiled at her child, quickly picking her up. "Hey, Chlo." Chloe waved. "Thanks, again."

"Anytime," Chloe replied. "I gotta run. I'll see you later." With that, she turned on her heels and walked away.

"Blue!" Macie suddenly exclaimed, wiggling down from her moms hip and going straight to the couch to touch Evie's long, blue locks.

Evie jumped a little, startled at the tiny child's movements "Hi, I'm Evie."

"Eeeeeeeeeeevvvvvie." Macie drew out her name, while still twirling her fingers in Evie's hair.

"Macie, leave her hair alone." Mal told her.

Macie looked at her mom, then back to Evie before looking back at her mom again, clearly debating what she was going to do."

"Why don't you show Evie your Elsa doll?" Mal asked her.

Macie nodded, "okay" before taking off into her bedroom, returning moments later with not only Elsa, but Anna, Sven and Olaf too. She brought her toys over to her new best friend. "Elsa." She shoved the toy into Evie's face."

"Wow, I love her blonde hair," Evie feigned enthusiasm over the toys. "She would look better with purple though," Evie looked up at Mal.

Mal felt her heart flutter just a little at the comment. Evie had always loved Mal's purple hair. It was one of the reasons she had dyed it blonde in the first place.

"What would you guys like for dinner?" Mal asked, heading into the kitchen. She could feel her eyes glowing a little but she had no idea why. She wasn't a fan of Macie seeing her eyes like that.

"Cheese!" Macie yelled, excitedly.

"Okay. Mac and Cheese for you!" Mal laughed, her eyes cooling back down. "Would you like Mac and cheese too, Evie?"

Evie shrugged, "Sure. As long as its not hospital food, I'm all game."

"Speaking of," Mal said as she started to boil the water. "How are you feeling? Still shaking?"

"A little. I'm a little lightheaded but nothing major." Evie smiled at Macie who was making Anna and Elsa talk to each other in whatever made up language toddlers use.

"That'll calm down more over the next couple days." Mal smiled.

It wasn't long before the water started to boil and Mal added in the pasta. While she waited for it to cook, she watched her old friend play so effortlessly with her daughter. She knew full well that Evie would have rough patches while getting sober but seeing her now reminded Mal of the old Evie. She one who had always had her heart. The Evie she had loved but would never tell a soul about.

Once the pasta was cooked, Mal drained it and mixed in the cheese. She portioned it out for the 3 girls and threw the dishes in the sink. "Dinner time," Mal placed the 2 dishes on the table and put Macie's on her high chair. The toddler ran over and raised her arms so her mom could put her into her seat.

"Cheese!" Macie laughed before picking up the pasta with her fingers. Mal rolled her eyes before sitting down with Evie at the table.

"So why did you decide to be a nurse?" Evie asked after taking a bite of her food.

Mal shrugged, "I figured daughter of Maleficent was bad long enough. Might as well help people or something."

"I'm not entirely sure you were ever as 'bad' as you think you were," Evie rolled her eyes.

"I told candy from babies!" Mal snarked back.

"Oh right, of course," Evie laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up," Mal laughed.

"Mama," Macie suddenly said. Both girls looked over at the toddler and laughed even more. Macie had cheese all over her face.

"Oh my," Evie laughed.

Mal got up and grabbed a towel and wiped her daughters face. "All done for you," Mal took the child out of her seat.

"I'll be right back, Evie. I gotta go get her changed and in bed."

Evie nodded, still picking at her dinner. Now that she had quiet, her brain was racing. All she could think about was how much she wanted a fix. She was happy to be with Mal and her daughter but she was struggling to stay focused on anything else. All Evie wanted to do with convince Mal that she was getting better. Evie still hadn't decided whether she actually wanted to get better. She had had such a bad few years that thinking about it just made her want coke more.

"Evie?" Mal said, snapping in front of Evie's face, trying to pull her out of her daydream.

"Huh?" Evie asked, her eyes focusing on the blonde.

"I asked if you were tired." Mal repeated herself.

Evie nodded, "Yeah I am." The blonde watched the girl for a moment but Evie didn't move. "Mal?"

"Yeah?" Mal asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Can I maybe sleep with you tonight? I know you moved Macie's bed in with you and everything but I'm kind of freaked out." Evie's said all of this very quickly and Mal struggled to keep up.

"You can sleep with me," Mal shrugged, "just remember that Macie will eventually climb into bed with us."

Evie nodded silently.

"Evie?" Mal asked as the blue haired girl started off into space.

"Yeah?" Evie shook her head and smiled.

"Are you okay? Do you need to talk?" Mal asked, sitting back down at the table, picking at her now cold Mac and cheese.

"Yeah, of course." Evie told her, fooling neither of them.

"It'll get better. I promise you. I know how badly you want that coke right now. I get it. You have to fight this though."

Evie nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Mal got up and cleared the dishes. She picked up Evie's bag and held out her hand. "Come on. You can use my shower. Macie is asleep in her bed so we should be good for a few hours at least." Mal smiled.

Evie took her hand and nodded. "Thank you. It's just for tonight. I promise."

"Like I said, if you want tiny, stinky feet in your face, that's on you." Mal laughed as she led Evie into her bedroom so they could finally put an end to such a long day.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own anything related to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

Warning: This chapter includes more in depth with rape and drugs.

—

Evie took a deep breath as she walked away from Mal, Jay and Carlos. She had desperately wanted Mal to walk her home but inside she knew that wasn't a good idea. She was completely 100% in love with her best friend. She had been for years. Her plan currently was to spend as little time alone with the purple haired dragon as possible.

She made her way down the trail and through the forest, humming out loud.

"Hey!" A man's voice yelled at her.

Evie turned around to see who was speaking. Their was a blur where his face should've been. "Yes?" Evie stayed rooted in the spot she was in, waiting for an answer.

An answer never came. The faceless man grabbed her and threw her against a tree, ripping her skirt before throwing her down on the ground. Evie tried to scream out but she couldn't make any words, terror filling her lungs and fogging her brain. The man climbed on top of her holding her hands against the ground with one giant hand while undoing his pants with the other. He ripped her underwear off quickly before situating himself inside her.

The pain that racked through Evie was intense and she could feel herself tearing. Tears poured from her eyes as she found her voice. Screaming 'no' over and over again hoping someone would hear her and stop him.

"Evie!" Mal's voice ripped Evie away from the woods and into a small bedroom. Still shaking, Evie's eyes focused on what had disturbed her nightmare. Blonde hair fell over tiny shoulders as Mal sat next to her.

"Mal!" Evie said, sitting up and throwing herself around the other girl.

"Hey, you're okay," Mal told her, hugging her back. "You're safe."

Evie held on for a few moments, flashes of her nightmare continue to play out in front of her eyes. Mal finally let go and gently pushed her back. "Are you okay?"

Evie nodded, trying to find her voice again. "I'm...I'm okay." Evie looked around the room, trying to ground herself. She saw all the toys on the floor and the small clothes hanging up in the closet. Finally Evie's breath slowed realizing she was in Macie's room, not her old house.

"Mama!" Macie yelled from the other room.

"Shit, I'll be right back." Mal disappeared and Evie sat quietly, her brain trying so hard to remain in the present. It had been such a long time since she had dreamed of that night. Years in fact. Evie had a sneaking suspicion that the drugs she was on previously kept her from dealing with the stuff she had repressed.

Drugs. Evie's thoughts went straight back to coke now that she was focusing on the real world. She had been at Mal's for 3 days now and her body was still craving that white powder as much as it had been before. She didn't exactly think Mal lied to her about the cravings but she figured it must've been easier for someone with dragon blood.

Evie picked up the phone and quickly texted her dealer. Just because Mal wanted to be clean for her perfect life, didn't mean Evie did. She didn't have a perfect life. No family. No friends. No money. Nothing to get excited about.

"Blueeeeeeeee!" Macie said bouncing into the room and jumping onto the bed. She smiled at Evie before grabbing a fistful of her hair.

Evie put on her best fake smile and waved back to the tiny girl. "Hi, Macie."

Macie grinned as she ran her fingers through the blue hair in front of her. Evie winced slightly at the pain but didn't stop her.

"Macie," Mal warned, coming into the room. "Let go of Evie's hair."

Macie scrunched up her face in a pout that was almost identical to her mom's. Evie laughed a little at the resemblance.

Macie finally let go and snuggled into Evie instead.

"Man she really likes you," Mal said, smiling.

"I guess so." Evie smiled back. "So what are you guys up to today?"

Mal got up and grabbed a hair brush and some hair ties. "I have to work so Macie is off to daycare." Mal pulled Macie into her lap and started brushing through her hair.

"I can watch her," Evie suggested. She had never really been alone with a little kid before but she was happy to try. Maybe it would keep her distracted from the cravings.

Mal looked at her for a moment, "Sorry, Evie. It's not that I don't think you would do great with her. I just...I don't really trust you." Mal's voice trailed off.

Evie chewed her lip for a moment before speaking. "I get it." She finally said.

The girls had been spending so much time trying to be okay with each other but the awkward silences still crept up on them.

"We really have to get going," Mal finally said, pickIng Macie up. "Will you be okay today? We will be back around 6 tonight."

"I'm a big girl. I'll be fine." Evie waved goodbye to them both as they left her room. She grabbed her phone and quickly texted her dealer once again. She made plans to meet up with him soon.

In less than an hour, Evie had made it to the sketchiest part of Auradon. Granted it still wasn't as grimy and dangerous as any place on the Isle but it was still not the safest.

"Hey, Doug," Evie smiled, her dealer approaching her. She and Doug had once been in a "relationship," if you could call it that. He had mostly been her fashion minion. Once he hadn't woken up from her kiss, she had admitted her feelings for Mal to herself. Luckily Doug had no hard feelings and was happy to supply her with cocaine.

"I thought you were getting clean," Doug said, leaning against the wall.

"News travels way too fast in this city," Evie rolled her eyes. "Just give me what I came for." She really wasn't in the mood for lectures. He may have been her supplier but Doug was clean. He always told her how she needed to stop.

Doug grabbed the small, yellow vial from his bag and handed it to her. Evie dug in her purse for the money she had swiped from Mal's dresser drawer that morning.

"Thanks." Evie nodded to him before turning around and walking off. She really didn't have a desire to spent time with him. Now that she was out of the fashion business, she didn't really have a need for him. Well minus her weekly dose of the white powder she loved so much.

Evie rounded the corner and made sure the coast was clear before opening the vial, sticking her pinky nail in, scooping out a little and sniffing it clean. The feeling was electric and she immediately felt better. It felt like her brain was coming to life for the first time in a week and everything was making sense again. Evie had always thought of it as the best feeling ever. She stuck the vial into her bag and headed back to Mal's.

—-

After many hours of junk food, tv and white powder, Evie finally heard the door open. She glanced over from the couch and saw Macie walk in the door followed by her mom.

"Hey guys!" Evie's grin spread over her entire face.

"You look like you're feeling better," Mal said warily, setting her keys down on the table.

Evie nodded back at Mal before Macie launched herself into Evie's lap, hands going directly to the blue hair she loved.

"Blue," she stated simply. Evie laughed at the tiny child.

"I think her favorite color might be blue, M." Evie laughed.

Mal stopped dead in her tracks at the old nickname. "What did you call me?"

"M of course!" Evie grinned. Mal could see every single one of her teeth.

"What's with you?" Mal asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing! I'm just so happy you're home!" Evie was practically bouncing, her knees shaking Macie up and down.

"No, that's not it." Mal stared suspiciously. "It's like you're-" Mal stopped mid sentence before glaring at Evie, eyes glowing green. "Evelyn!"

"I'm sorry okay?" Evie jumped up throwing out her hands in front of her. Macie was startled by the sudden movement but decided it was okay and toddled off to her toys.

"Give it to me." Mal warned, demanding the vial.

"No way," Evie countered.

The green in Mal's eyes darkened as she demanded once again. This time Mal's very own brand of mind control worked and Evie handed over the cocaine. Mal shook the green out of her eyes and walked straight into the bathroom, Evie following. The blue haired woman was begging and screaming when Mal dumped the remaining contents down the toilet before flushing away Evie's happiness.

"What the fuck did I tell you, Evie?" Mal yelled. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you? You made it through detox. You made it through the hard stuff and now you just want to go right back to it? To almost dying? To looking like actual shit all the time?" Mal's voice was so loud now she was certain the neighbors could hear but she didn't care. She situated herself in the doorway so she could still see her daughter while she reprimanded the other.

"I don't know, okay?" Evie answered, tears in her eyes. "It made me feel good. Nothing makes me feel good anymore, Mal. All I think about, all I see is that guy and that night. I forget all about it when I'm high." Evie admitted out loud. She had never told anyone this before.

Mal continued to glare but she was less menacing without her eyes glowing. "That is my daughter, Evie. My kid. She is a child. You brought drugs into my house. Where my kid sleeps. She is innocent." Mal was speaking very slowly as she watched Evie break down at her feet.

"Please, M," she begged, "I'm so sorry. Please. I won't do it again. I just...please don't make me go and sleep on the street again."

"You need to leave. I need to calm down before I rip out your spine." Mal hissed.

Evie looked up at Mal, her makeup completely ruined.

"Now." Mal whispered.

Evie stood up and walked out of the bedroom door, pushing past Mal.

"Blue! What wrong?" Macie asked clearly at the sight of Evie's tear soaked face.

"See you later, Mace," Evie told her. She opened the front door and with one last look at Mal, she shut it behind her.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything related to Descendants, Disney, Dove or Sofia.

—-

"I told her I would kind of..." Mal pauses, "rip out her spine..."

"Mal!" Chloe said in shock.

Mal threw her hands up, "I know, I know okay?"

"Mal," her friend said again. "You can't just threaten her and throw her away. That's not how being an adult works."

Mal rolled her eyes. She had serious anger issues still. She always blamed it on being part dragon. Controlling her emotions wasn't easy for her. She tried so hard but she didn't always succeed. "She brought drugs into my house, Chlo. What would've happened if Macie had found them?"

"One, you told me she had them hidden in her bag. With the way you keep an eye on your kid, she never would've found them. And two, you need to give her a break. You went through this too. How many times did you relapse before it stuck?"

"3," Mal mumbled.

"Exactly." Chloe told her. "I'm not trying to make you feel like shit but she needs someone who understands right now, not someone who is going to judge her for fucking up."

Mal was about to speak when she heard the cry coming from her daughter's room. "Hold on." Mal stood up and went to check on her child. "Hi, baby," Mal smiled, picking up her little girl. Macie just snuggled into her shoulder and fell back asleep. Mal carried her back through to the living room, where Chloe sat on her couch.

"What am I supposed to do?" Mal asked, rubbing Macie's back. "I don't even know where she is."

"Text her. Find her. Apologize." Chloe told her. "You know recovery takes time and needs a lot of support. Who is going to help her if you don't?"

Mal sighed. She knew that was true. Aside from the Evil Queen, Evie had no family. And everyone knew the Queen was crazy. Mal had no idea where Jay and Carlos were, she hadn't spoken to Ben in years and she was fairly certain Doug was Evie's dealer. "What if I'm not strong enough for this?" Mal asked, voicing her fears for the first time. "I can't get lost in that world again."

"Macie will keep you grounded, Mal." Chloe told her, brushing hair out of the little girl's face. "You went through hell for her before, that'll be what keeps you from going through it again."

Mal nodded, chewing on her lip quietly. She was fully aware she had lost her temper with her old friend. Evie didn't deserve that. Clearly the things Evie had been through were fucking with her head and Mal should be helping, not punishing. It was hard for her though.

"I gotta get going," Chloe said, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Find her and apologize. Help her."

Mal nodded, "See ya." Chloe closed the door behind her and Mal was left alone with her thoughts. Evie used to be so happy and bubbly and sweet. Now she was so broken. Mal hated the man that destroyed her and hated herself for not trying harder when Evie ended their friendship.

Macie stirred a little before looking at her mom. "Hi."

"Hi to you too," Mal smiled. "You hungry?"

Those were the magic words. Macie was up and running to the kitchen, pointing at the box of goldfish crackers on the counter. Mal handed her a bowl full of them and Macie carried them back to the living room, picking up her favorite toy and settling down to play. Mal decided to use this opportunity to work on some flash cards with her kid.

"What color is this?" Mal asked, holding up a card with a yellow duck on it.

"Lellllow!" Macie answered, shoving 4 goldfish in her mouth at once.

"Good job," Mal laughed. "And this one?" She held up a purple seahorse.

"Mama!" Macie exclaimed.

"Yes, I like this color. What is it?" Mal giggles, trying again.

"Urple!"

"Close enough." Mal picked up a blue beach ball card next."

"Blueeeeeeeeeeee!" Macie clapped. She then looked around, holding her hands up in confusion. "Where blue? Blue bye bye?"

Mal looked down at Macie for a moment, carefully choosing her words. "She's not here, Mace. She had to leave."

"No." Macie said simply. "No go."

Mal tried to hold up a green frog card next to get Macie's mind off Evie but the little girl just kept saying "no go" over and over again. Mal picked up her phone and texted Evie.

"Macie misses you." -Mal

The blonde put the phone back down and turned to her daughter. "I told her you miss her." Macie just smiled, picking up her toy cars letting them go down the giant track.

"Blue." Macie said again, clearly trying to get her mom to grasp her point.

"I know, I get it." Mal told her. "I'm sorry."

—

Evie sat in the groups old hideout back on the Isle. It was cold and damp and covered in cobwebs but she didn't have anywhere else to go. She wrapped her old blanket around her shoulders, trying to warm up. The place didn't exactly have central heating.

Tears were falling as she shivered, her mind racing. She wished so much that she could go back to that night and make Mal walk her home. Every single thing in her life would be different. Everything.

She flipped through her old design book. Dizzy had given it back to her once she started her own creations in Auradon. Evie had seen some of "Dizzy from the Isle" in the stores around town. She just wished her own designs were too. That dream was gone though. She hadn't designed or created anything in years. She wasn't even sure she could anymore.

The bandaid on her wrist caught her eye. Falling back into old habits was hard on Evie but she felt so lost, so broken, so useless. She didn't have a place anymore. She used to be apart of the "Core Four" but that was gone. She used to be the other half of an amazing friendship. That was gone. She used to be a kick ass designer. That was gone too. Now she was just a self loathing drug addict.

Evie glanced at herself in the mirror, heartbroken to see what she saw. She had no makeup on and she looked 10 years older than she was. Her eyes were sunk so deeply in she had a skeleton like look about her. Her cheekbones were protruding out and her hair was so lifeless and straggly. She was thinner than she had ever been and you could see all her bones. Between the drugs and not eating due to depression, Evie looked like literal walking death. She grabbed her old hairbrush and threw it at the mirror. "Fuck you," she said as it shattered.

Just then, her phone dinged at her. She looked down and saw a message from Mal. Evie smiled a little at the thought of Macie. It didn't last long though. All that text really did was remind her that she had screwed up yet again.

"I miss her too." -Evie

Evie hit send and sunk back into the lumpy old couch. She really didn't want to be stuck there. The hideout had so many memories of her and Mal. Evie couldn't help but chuckle a little at how far they had come. The Evil Queen not inviting Mal to Evie's 6th birthday has resulted in Evie and her mother being banished. It all seemed so ridiculous looking back on it. They were back where they started though. Full circle. Mal hates her once again.

Evie didn't know what to do. Did she want to get clean? The drugs were all that helped her forget. Her heart ached though at the thought of losing Mal again. Was it worth no drugs to be Mal's friend again? Evie knew that's all they were ever be.

Evie sighed loudly, getting off the couch and looking over at the graffiti all over the walls. There were faded pictures of her as well as Mal. A giant mural of the four was painted as well, the words "Rotten to the Core" underneath.

"Because were rotten," Evie mumbled to herself, "to the core."

She walked over to the bed that was underneath the picture of herself and laid down. She curled up in a ball cried herself to sleep.

—-

"I knew I would find you here," Mal's voice woke Evie from her sleep.

"Mal?" Evie asked, opening her eyes.

"I figured you would choose here over that dark, gloomy castle you used to live in." Mal chuckled. "I'm impressed you were able to hit the sign with a rock though. You were always so bad at it."

"I was not!" Evie protested.

"Yeah. You were." Mal walked over to the couch and sat down, waiting for Evie to join her. "It was my wonderful art that brought you up here, wasn't it?" She teased.

"What are you doing here?" Evie asked.

"I was a bitch and I'm sorry." Mal admitted to her.

"It's my fault. You have nothing to apologize for." Evie looked down at her hands.

"I'm so protective over Macie." Mal told her, "but I should've been protective over you too."

Evie looked up at her, meeting her bright green eyes.

"I relapsed 3 times while I was pregnant. You're allowed to slip up. At least you aren't endangering another life when you do." Mal looked so remorseful as she spoke.

Evie took Mal's hand to stop the blonde from fidgeting. "Macie is perfect."

Mal nodded, "she is, but she easily couldn't have been. I put her life at risk and mine."

Evie was quiet for a few moments before speaking again, "I don't want to die, Mal. Coke is just the only way I can forget what happened. It's the only way I can stop feeling him."

"I know. You need to go talk to someone and deal with what happened, not just cover it in drugs." Mal switched their positions and pulled Evie in close to her, so Evie was laying her head on Mal's chest. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when it happened. I can help you deal with it now though."

Evie breathed in Mal and smiled at the familiar smell. It had always made her feel safe. "I'm just scared."

Mal nodded but didn't say anything. They just laid for a while like that. Enjoying the peacefulness. Peaceful was a foreign concept to both of them.

"We should get going, Eves," Mal said.

"Can we stay here a little longer?" Evie asked, not wanting to return to real life just yet.

Mal nodded and started playing with Evie's hair. "I want us to be friends again. It's just going to take a while before I can trust you. Especially with Macie. I don't exactly trust easily."

Evie just nodded before Mal continued.

"Not having you around the last 5 years has been really hard. I have to relearn what it's like to be friends with you." Mal ran her finger across Evie's wrist, gently touching the bandaid. She knew what lied beneath it. That was a habit Evie had started long before they left the Isle. Her mom had verbally abused her so much as a child.

Evie flinched a little at the touch. It didn't hurt but she didn't like being exposed like that. She knew Mal didn't mean any harm by it but it still freaked her out a bit. Not that it mattered, Evie was so happy to be laying with Mal again. Even if it was going to take a lot of work to get better.

"So," Evie laughed, "what happen to the purple? You're too cool for the Isle look now?"

"Hey, I kept the purple streaks." Mal laughed, "I just needed a change at the time. I always planned on going back to purple. It is my signature color after all."

"Purple definitely goes well with blue," Evie smiled, twirling her hair.

"You're a nerd," Mal joked.

"Any word from Dizzy or Celia lately? Or Audrey? Or Jane?" Evie asked, enjoying the simplistic conversation.

"Not really. The last I heard Dizzy was still designing. Her and Celia have a house out near Rupunzel's castle."

"Dizzy and Celia?" Evie asked, shocked at the coupling.

"Oh yeah. They are actually pretty cute. Celia runs an arcade. Kind of like her dad's but not evil." Mal smiled. "Jane was still in college last I heard of her. Ben said she was studying to be some kind of engineer I think. I don't really remember."

"And Audrey?"

"Oh right," Mal laughed. "You must really be out of the loop. She married Chad last year and they live in Charmington castle."

"Oh I can't believe he convinced her to marry him. He was crazy," Evie laughed.

"She wasn't exactly the sanest either," Mal laughed as well.

"How's Ben?" Evie asked, leaving the one who would be the hardest for last.

"He's good. I talked to him a few months ago. He's dating some princess but I don't remember her name. He's all over tv though." Mal told her.

"Right. His big kingly duties." Evie remembered.

"Everyone grew up and got lives I guess," Mal shrugged.

"Yeah. Kind of makes me feel lost." Evie admitted.

"You'll get there," Mal promised.

"Thanks."

Silence crept over them again. This time it was a comfortable one.

"Are you ready to go home?" Mal asked.

"Your place?" Evie asked.

"Your place too. As long as you need it." Mal smiled before standing up, offering her hand.

Evie grabbed it and stood up. "Lets go." The girls held hands as they walked out of their old hideout, down the stairs and off the isle.


	10. Chapter 10

Evie sighed as she looked around the room that belonged to a toddler. She knew that it was the only place she could sleep but realistically, she just wished she could sleep in Mal's room. In Mal's bed. With Mal. Not that that would ever happen, of course. Mal would never share the same feelings Evie did.

There was a knock at the door, "Hey, Evie, are you up? You have therapy in an hour."

"Yeah, I'm awake." Evie's answered back. She ran a brush through her hair, quickly braided it to the side and walked out the bedroom door.

"Hey," Mal said, getting Macie situated. She was in her scrubs for work.

"Hey. You know you don't have to drive me to therapy." Evie told her as she grabbed a box of cereal out of the pantry.

"It's on the way. You'll have to take a bus back but I'm heading that way anyway." Mal shrugged, handing Macie some yoghurt.

"Thanks," Evie said sheepishly. She felt awful for everything Mal was doing for her.

"Are you nervous?" Mal asked, handing Evie a cup of coffee before sitting down with her own.

Evie nodded in reply.

"Yeah, therapy sucks but it's good for you." Mal told her, taking a sip.

"Did you go?" Evie asked.

"I did. For about 2 years. It helped. Really. I had a lot of issues I didn't even realize were causing me to turn to drugs. I had all this anger towards my mother and-" Mal paused for a second, deciding that telling Evie she was a major part of her issues wasn't the best plan at the moment. "And just a lot of other things."

"I know it was me. It's okay to say that. I fucked up." Evie told her, looking down at the mug she was given. It was black with a purple M on it.

Mal just shrugged, "shit happens."

The girls sat in quiet for a while, watching Macie attempt to get yoghurt in her mouth and sipping from their coffees.

"I'm scared, Mal." Evie said quietly.

"I know, E...vie," Mal said. She just couldn't bring herself to call her by her old nickname.

Evie flinched a little at the reminder that they weren't really friends anymore.

"The first session will be the easiest," Mal continued. "She will ask you a lot of simple questions about why you are there. You just have to be honest. Tell her the truth about what happened that night, about your mom, about us."

"Us?" Evie asked quickly.

"Yeah...our friendship ending or whatever," Mal said.

Evie nodded, "right, of course." She felt stupid for thinking for a moment that Mal was talking about something else.

Mal noticed the look in Evie's eyes and she felt really bad. She knew about the other woman's old crush on her but Evie didn't know the feelings were mutual. Mal couldn't tell her though. Her and Evie being together was not a good idea.

"Um...okay then. I'm going to go get Macie cleaned up and then I'll meet you in the car." Mal stood up and wrangled Macie out of her high chair.

20 minutes later, they were on their way. Evie was playing with Macie in the backseat.

"Blue." Macie said matter of factly. Evie just laughed at the small child. She could see how the toddler kept Mal on track. She already loved Macie so much and she hadn't known her long.

Mal parked in front of 'It's a Small World Nursery.' "You can come in with us if you want." The blonde told her as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Really?" Evie asked as she undid her seatbelt and then started on Macie's.

"It's just daycare, Evie," Mal laughed at her excitement. She knew her friend needed to be useful and get into a routine. She figured dropping a kid off at daycare was about as routine as they could get.

Macie insisted on Evie carrying her into the building. Even though she had lived in Auradon for years, Evie still wasn't completely used to all the 'goodness' everywhere. The walls were covered in murals of castles, princes and princesses. All the things Evie had wanted as a child herself.

Mal quickly typed in Macie's ID number into the computer to check her in for the day and then led them down the hall. "She's in the toddler room. It's right here," Mal said as she stopped outside the room.

"Her room is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves? Seriously?" Evie asked, raising her eyebrow.

Mal laughed. "Yep. It's okay, the Sleeping Beauty classroom will be coming up in a couple years."

Mal pushed open the door and let Evie and Macie in first. "Good morning, Miss Melody."

"Good morning, Macie," Melody came over to greet them as Macie wiggled out of Evie's arms and ran off to the toys.

"Chloe is picking her up today. I'm not off until late tonight." Mal told her, putting Macie's stuff in her cubby.

"Okay sounds good." Melody told her.

"Oh and this is Evie. She is staying with us for a while." Mal said, waving her arm towards Evie. "So if Macie says anything about 'blue' she is referring to her."

Evie just waved, then turned back and watched Macie play some more.

"Do you need to add her to your emergency contacts?" Melody asked, picking up a binder.

"Oh. Um...no that's not necessary." Mal said, awkwardly. Evie felt a slight pain through her heart at the words but she wasn't surprised. She knew she had messed up. "We should get going, Evie." Mal didn't want things to get even more awkward.

"Bye, Macie," Mal said to her daughter who didn't even look up from her toy. Mal rolled her eyes and walked out the door, Evie following close behind.

"I didn't mean anything by that," Mal said once they were on the road again. "I really don't trust people with my kid. It's not just you."

"I get it," Evie told her. Which was true but painful at the same time. She could only imagine the life they would have now if she had never walked away from their friendship. That thought hurt her a lot.

"One day, okay? It's just going to take time. I'll trust you again." Mal told her, taking her hand and squeezing it.

Evie felt butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't entirely sure if it was from Mal or the fact that they had just pulled up at the therapist.

"Okay so it's the number 5 bus to get back to my place. Here is a key. Chloe and Macie will be home around 4 and I should be home around 7."

"Thanks," Evie said, taking the key.

"You'll do great, okay?" Mal squeezed her hand again. "Text me when you're done so I know you're okay."

Evie nodded and waved goodbye as she got out of the car. She waved once again as Mal drove off. She turned on her heels and walked up to the building. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"Evelyn Grimhilde?" The Doctor came out and asked for her.

"It's Evie," the terrified woman said, getting up and walking over to her.

"Evie it is then," the doctor smiled. "I'm Dr. Darling." She led her into the office gesturing towards the couch so Evie could sit down.

"As in Wendy, Michael and John?" Evie asked as the doctor sat down across from her.

"Yeah, Michael is my dad," the doctor smiled.

"The Evil Queen is my mother," Evie told her.

"So you were one of the kids brought over from the Isle originally?"

"Yeah I came with Mal, Jay and Carlos." Evie told her.

"That had to have been a hard change." Dr. Darling said to her. It wasn't a question.

Evie nodded, "it was rough at first. I'm just glad I wasn't alone and I came with them. We all got to go through it together."

"Are you guys still friends?" The doctor asked, making notes on the clipboard in her hands. That made Evie nervous.

"I don't really know how to answer that." Evie told her honestly.

"That's okay. We can come back to that." The doctor scribbled some notes. Evie tried to stretch her neck enough to read it but no luck. "So what brings you here today."

"Drugs. Depression. General self hatred," Evil told her, half joking.

"Well let's start with the drugs then."

"That's complicated." Evie told her.

"What makes it complicated?"

Evie was quiet for a while, the doctor just looking at her, waiting. "I was raped," Evie said almost silently.

"Can you repeat that?" Dr. Darling asked her. She hadn't heard what the girl said.

Evie took a deep breath, steadying herself. Her hands were shaking. "I was raped."

"Do you know who did it?" The doctor asked her, writing some more.

Evie just shook her head. "It was dark, I didn't see him."

"And that's what led you to the drugs?"

"Not initially." Evie told her. "It's what led me to end my friendships and walk away from the people I loved."

"Okay," The doctor continued to take notes. "So that led you to feeling isolated, I'm guessing?"

Evie nodded again. "My ex boyfriend or whatever was selling to earn extra money and I convinced him to sell me some coke. I wanted something to make me forget."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah. It numbed me pretty well. I miss it." Evie admitted.

"How long have you been clean?"

"Not long. I OD'ed and ended up in the ER." Evie told her.

"Is that what made you decide to get clean? The almost dying?" The doctor asked, scribbling furiously.

"Not really, no. I ran into my old best friend, Mal." Evie grinned. "She's an ER nurse there. She's the one cheering me on through all this. Trying to help me."

"Your face lit up when you mentioned her name. She clearly very important to you."

Evie tried to conceal her smile but she couldn't help it. "Yeah, she is. She's always been."

"She's one you cut out of your life though isn't she?" The doctor asked.

"She was, yeah." Evie nodded.

"If she was so important, why end things?"

Evie's head was hurting with all the questions she was being asked. She wasn't exactly enjoying the walk down memory lane. "I blamed her."

"You blamed your friend for you being raped?"

Evie nodded.

"Can you explain to me how it was Mal's fault?" The doctor asked.

"I don't know. I was so screwed up and not thinking clearly and I blamed her for not walking me home because I told her not to because I was afraid I would kiss her and ruin everything and I told her to leave me alone forever because I couldn't deal with anything especially my feelings for her and what happened and yeah..." Evie rambled not taking a breath.

"Okay. Wow. That's a lot."

"Yeah, sorry," Evie said, looking down.

"So here is the first rule in therapy." The doctor started. "You never apologize. Especially for how you feel. No matter what, your feelings are valid."

Evie nodded. "Okay."

"Does you friend share the same feelings for you?" Dr. Darling asked.

"Of course not. Why would she? I'm horrible and I destroyed everything." Evie told her, trying not to cry.

"Well you can't have destroyed everything. You said she is helping you get better." The doctor smiled.

"She is." Evie smiled for a moment, "but she will eventually give up. I'm too broken. Too damaged. She will realize it eventually."

"You're not broken. I can tell they just from the little we've talked." The doctor wrote down some more notes. "Have you ever talked to anyone about what happened to you? The details of it?"

Evie shook her head. She had always kept the details to herself. Mal was one of the only people who knew what had happened but she knew the simple version.

"Okay, so next time we are going to work on dealing with that okay? Until we meet again, I want you to talk to a friend, Mal if you want, about the things you feel. Even if it's something silly. I get the impression that you won't always let yourself feel the way you should."

Evie chewed the inside of her lip. She was right of course. It was easier for Evie to just go along with things and deal quietly than express her feelings. "Okay."

"How about same time next week?"

"Yeah, okay," Evie told her. She wasn't sure she liked therapy or that she would show up but it was nice to have someone to talk to. "Thanks," she stood up and shook the woman's hand before walking out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Mal was exhausted by the time she walked through her front door that evening. It had been a particular busy day in the ER. It seemed everyone was out doing stupid shit and getting hurt.

"Hi baby," Mal smiled as her daughter ran into her arms. "Was she good?"

Chloe picked up her bag as she was getting ready to leave, "Mostly. She threw a fit because I wouldn't let her throw her toys into the glass window."

"Macie!" Mal scolded.

"Mama. It's good." Macie told her, very matter of factly.

Mal just rolled her eyes. "Thanks for watching her. Is Evie in her room?" She set the toddler down so she could thumb through the mail.

"No, I don't know where she is. She wasn't here when we got here." Chloe told her.

"What?" Mal practically yelled, causing Macie to jump. "What do you mean she isn't here?" Panic began rising in Mal's chest. Where was she? Was she okay? Did she already relapse again? "I have to go find her." Mal told her, immediately jerking open the front door.

"Woah," Evie said as Mal practically ran into her. Her hand had been on the doorknob about to turn it. Mal threw her arms around Evie, her pulse rate returning to normal. "Hi to you, too." Evie laughed.

"Night, guys," Chloe said. Pushing past them.

"Where were you?" Mal demanded, letting Evie go.

"I've just been wondering around mostly." Evie told her, shaking off her jacket and hanging it up.

"Did you? I mean are you..." Mal's sentence cut off as she started into Evie's eyes.

"I'm not high, if that's what you're trying to figure out." Evie told her, laughing as she bent down to say hi to Macie.

"Blue!" Macie smiled, hugging her newest friend.

"Not that it doesn't warm my heart, but why are you freaking out?" Evie asked Mal as she stood up again.

"I just thought that...maybe...I mean with therapy..." Mal rambled, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's nice to have someone care again." Evie smiled before giving Mal a hug. "I'm okay. Therapy was hard but I'm okay." Evie told her before releasing her.

"Do you want to talk about it while I start dinner?" Mal asked, walking into the kitchen.

"It wasn't anything crazy," Evie started. "Just the basic stuff like you said. We talked about the guy and..." Evie paused.

"And what?" Mal asked, turning from the stove.

"Um...you." 

"Me?" Mal raised her eyebrow.

Evie really wasn't sure she wanted to have this conversation but the therapist did tell her she needed to express her feelings more. "About my feelings for you."

"Right." Mal said. She never knew what to say when Evie mentioned this. The blonde had had feelings for her friend for a long time but no one knew. Mal busied herself with the pasta she was making.

"The doctor told me I need to talk about what I'm feeling more and not just repress it." Evie told her, gauging Mal's facial expressions before continuing. "Mal..."

"Yeah?" Mal asked, not looking up.

"Can you honestly tell me that you have no feelings for me? Or that you didn't. Before." Evie asked, forcing the question out of her mouth. She needed to know.

"Evie..." Mal said quietly. She shook her head, "I don't date girls."

"What about Uma? You guys were together on the Isle for a while." Evie argued.

"That's not the same. You're talking about love. Uma and I...that was just sex." Mal told her, her eyes glued to the spoon she was stirring.

"So you really don't think you could ever love me? In that way? You never thought about me before?" Evie asked, her own eyes glued to the green ones watching the spoon spin.

Mal chewed on her lip. She didn't know what to do. She either admitted it or lied. She didn't even know how she felt about Evie anymore. They hadn't spoken in years before Evie showed up in her ER. "Evie," Mal said, finally looking up at the other woman. Mal stared into the dark brown eyes and she knew. In that instant she knew how she felt. As broken as their relationship currently was, she loved Evie. She always had but they couldn't be together.

It took all of Mal's strength to tear her eyes away from Evie's own. She couldn't say anything. She couldn't get her mouth to form words.

"Mal?" Evie questioned, working up all her nerve and walking over to the blonde, closing all the distance between them. Evie grabbed Mal's hand to stop her stirring. "Do you love me?" She asked again. Mal was acting so strange and Evie was trying so hard to not get her hopes up.

"I...l..." Mal stuttered. She couldn't say yes and she couldn't say no. Her whole body was frozen.

Evie leaned in even closer, and Mal could feel her breath against her lips. "Mal?"

Both girls leaned in, millimeters separating them now. "Oh god," Evie thought, excitement filling her brain. Mal's brain wasn't processing anything.

"Mama?" Macie said from the living room, snapping Mal out of the close encounter.

"Yeah?" Mal asked, tearing her eyes away from Evie's lips.

Evie cursed the toddler. What just happened? Did this mean Mal has feelings for her too?

"Hungry, please," Macie said.

"I know, I'm making spaghetti." Mal told her as she went back to her now limp pasta. She didn't know what to think about what almost happened.

"Mal?" Evie asked quietly.

"Evie," She said back. "The food will be ready soon. Can you get Macie all washed up and situated, please?"

Evie sighed and nodded, "Yeah." She made her way into the living room and picked the toddler up and carried her into the bathroom. Her mind was racing but she didn't know what to do or say to help the situation.

—-

Evie stood outside Mal's bedroom door wringing her hands. She started pacing once again. She had been standing out there for 30 minutes while Mal put Macie to bed. Her brain was going 100 miles an hour. What had happened if Macie hadn't interrupted them? Evie needed to know. Her body wasn't cooperating though. She was trying so hard to knock on the door, to go in and talk to the blonde.

"Come on, Evie," she whispered to herself. "Come on." She lifted up her arm and held her hand against the door, trying to force herself to knock. Her brain was yelling at her but her body wouldn't listen. Finally she knocked quietly. "Mal?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Yeah?" Mal answered.

"Can I come in?" Evie asked, nervous for the answer.

"Sure," Mal told her.

Evie opened the door and saw Mal laying on the bed, Macie asleep next to her. "What's up?" she asked.

Evie was taken back by how casual Mal was being. They had barely spoken as they ate dinner and now Mal was acting as though everything was normal.

"Um, do I need to whisper?" Evie asked, glancing at the sleeping toddler.

"Oh no, she's fine. She's pretty out of it." Mal told her, sitting up.

"Okay, good," Evie started. "Um, so I figured maybe we should talk about...you know...what happened." Evie finished quickly sitting down on the end of the bed.

Mal sighed, she knew this was coming, she just figured it would happen the next day. "There isn't anything to talk about, Evie."

"What would've happened if Macie hadn't interrupted us?" Evie asked, cutting straight to the point.

"We would've kissed," Mal answered bluntly.

"So does that mean you do have feelings for me?" Evie asked her.

"I love you, Evie. You were such a huge part of my life when we were younger. Of course I love you. When I saw you lying on the hospital gurney, almost dead, it broke my heart." Mal told her, tears in her eyes. "You broke me though. You actually broke me. I don't know if you understand that. You abandoned me. Just like my dad. Just like my mom. Just like everyone has. You were supposed to be the one person who would never leave me and you did. With no explanation."

"Mal..." Evie tried, feeling awful at the woman's words.

"I know you were raped, Evie. I know that. I know you weren't yourself and I get that. Now. I get that now. I didn't know any of this all those years ago when you left me. All I knew was that I clearly had done something to make yet another person leave me." Tears fell from Mal's eyes now. She really didn't want to tell Evie any of this but she knew she needed to. "When I tell you that I was broken, I'm so lucky I'm alive. I had no regard for my life. I needed anything to take the pain away from the only person I truly loved leaving me."

Evie was shocked by the words. She was the only person Mal truly loved?

Mal continued, "Having you back is great, Evie. I'm trying to get past everything, I'm trying to get back to the friendship we used to have. You and I can't be together and I'm sorry for that but we can't. No matter the feelings we have or had." Mal wiped the tears from her face. She was shaking. Breaking Evie's heart wasn't something she ever wanted to do. There was nothing more she wanted than to kiss Evie and let the world melt away but she knew better. "You have to focus on recovery and I have Macie to think about."

Evie nodded. She understood. It didn't stop her from wanting to kiss Mal and forget the world for a couple hours but she understood.

"I'm trying, Evie. I promise you I'm trying to get us back to where we used to be. It's just going to take time."

"I'm trying too. All I want is a fix. Instead, I'm going to lay here with you and Macie and try to relax. If that's okay with you." Evie told her.

"You can stay in here," Mal answered, scooting the toddler over a little so Evie could lay on the other side of her.

They were both quiet for a moment, separated by a sleeping little girl.

"Do you think, maybe, one day?" Evie asked, pushing her luck.

"Anything is possible." Mal replied.


	12. Chapter 12

Mal woke up suddenly, shooting up from a dead sleep. She heard something. She immediately glanced over and saw her daughter, safe in Evie's arms. Mal's heart ached for a moment at the could-have-been. Her mind immediately turned back to the panic. She very carefully got out of the bed and crept to the door, making sure to not wake the sleeping girls. Mal walked through the apartment, looking around, her eyes glowing green. She strained her ears to listen, trying to place the noise that woke her up. Nothing caught her eye. Nothing was out of place. She opened the front door and peered out but nothing was there.

"Mal?" Evie asked sleepily.

Mal jumped and turned around, facing the blue haired woman.

"Fuck, E!" Mal yelled, her heart racing. "I mean, Evie." Mal caught herself, her eyes glowing a brighter green.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked, "Hey, calm down. Your eyes." She walked over to the woman and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. Calm down."

Mal let herself relax in Evie's arms, calming her breathing until the feeling in her face cooled down. "Thanks."

"No problem. We can't have you turning into a dragon in here. You won't fit." Evie smiled, trying to get Mal to smile too.

"I'm okay," Mal told her, letting her go and walking into the kitchen for some water.

"What woke you up?" Evie asked, sitting down at the table.

"I heard something but I don't know what it was." Mal took a sip of her water bottle and offered it to Evie, who gladly accepted it and took a sip.

"Come on," Evie gestured, "lets get you back to bed. You have work in a couple hours."

Mal nodded and let Evie lead her into her room. She was just glad her heart rate had returned to normal.

"I'll go sleep in Macie's room. Sweet dreams," Evie told her, turning around to leave.

"Evil dreams," Mal said back to her, causing both girls to laugh at the memory. "Thanks."

"Night," Evie said before shutting the door.

"Hello?" Mal said into her cell phone as she tried to balance an ipad and medications in her hands.

"Hey, Mal, it's Melody." Macie's teacher said.

"Oh hey, what's up?" Mal cradled the phone in her neck and put the medications in her pocket so she could pull up a patient chart on the ipad.

"I'm really sorry but Macie is throwing up, she has to be sent home."

"Crap," Mal said, setting the ipad down and rubbing her temples. "Okay, I'll figure it out. Thanks."

Mal hung up the phone and immediately called Chloe. "Hey, is there anyway you can pick up Macie and watch her for a few hours? She's sick but the ER is insane. They aren't going to let me leave."

"I can't," Chloe said through the phone. I'm sorry. I have a meeting I can't get out of. I'm sorry, Mal."

Mal sighed, "It's okay, thanks." She hung up the phone and looked over at Sofia. "Macie is sick."

"They are never going to let you leave." Sofia told her, heading off to a patient room.

Mal looked around at the ER. It was completely packed. There was no way. Mal pulled out her phone and scanned through her list of contacts. The other few people who took care of her kid were at work. Chloe was usually her day sitter when she needed it. Mal sighed. It was either lose her job or call the one person she didn't trust with her child. She hit the call button.

"Hello?" Evie answered.

"Hey Macie is sick and no one can get her. Can you please go get her and take her home?" Mal asked, tightness in her voice.

"Seriously?" Evie asked, not even trying to cover the shock in her voice.

"I don't have anyone else and the ER is slammed." Mal said, desperately.

"Yeah, of course I will." Evie told her, getting up from the couch and throwing on a pair of shoes.

"Okay, I'll call the school and let them know you're on the way. The bus stop is right across the street from the daycare. When you get home, just get Macie changed and put her into bed. She should fall asleep fairly easily." Mal rambled on.

"I got it, Mal." Evie told her.

"Oh and put a trash can by the bed in case she gets sick. And a cold washcloth on her forehead." Mal continued, trying to open the chart she was supposed to be looking at while giving instructions.

"M, I got it okay? I took care of Dizzy when she was sick when she was younger. Macie will be fine. I'll call you once she is settled."

"Okay, thanks." Mal hung up the phone.

Evie grabbed the spare key and headed to the bus stop. She wished she had a car to pick Macie up but she had no idea how to drive. She made a mental note to learn.

Luckily it didn't take too long for Evie to arrive. She walked into Macie's classroom and saw the toddler laying down on a beanbag chair looking completely pitiful.

"Blue," she said weakly.

"Hi sweet girl," Evie knelt down beside her. "You ready to go home?"

Macie nodded and held out her arms so Evie could pick her up. She thanked the teacher and made her way back to the bus stop, Macie clinging on as tight as she could.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked while they waited for the bus, feeling her forehead for a fever.

"Tummy hurts," Macie replied before laying her head back on Evie's shoulder.

"I know, sweetie," Evie ran her fingers through the dark hair trying to comfort her. "We will be home soon."

"Mama," Macie said.

"She will be home as soon as she can be," Evie told her, the small voice breaking her heart.

Once they were home, Evie changed Macie into pajamas and tucked her into Mal's bed, placing a cold washcloth on her forehead. Evie laid down next to her and stroked her hair until she fell asleep, gripping Evie's T-shirt. She tried to pull away but every time she did, the toddler held her grip even tighter. Evie resolved herself to the fact that she wasn't getting up and snuggling down deeper into the bed, getting comfortable. She text Mal to let her know that Macie was sleeping and doing okay.

Evie was happy to have the distraction from her need for drugs but she felt so awful for the child.

What seemed like only minutes later, she heard Mal's voice, "Evie?"

Evie woke up from her nap. She didn't even realize she fell asleep and looked over at Macie, seeing that she was still fast asleep. "I'm sorry," Evie immediately said. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay," Mal told her, laying down on the other side of her daughter. "Thanks." Mal said quietly. She knew she had been making a big deal about how much she didn't trust her former friend. Evie could've easily thrown it in her face but she didn't.

"It was no problem," Evie told her, really hoping this was the beginning of a breakthrough for them. "I didn't mind at all." Evie sat up and stretched. "I'll leave you two alone." She smiled and walked out the door. She wanted to stay but knew that Mal would want some time alone.

Evie grabbed an old notebook and sat down to sketch. She figured it was as good a time as any to start designing again. If she was going to stop using, she needed something else to live for. Something else to distract her from her memories.

—

A knock on the door interrupted Evie's concentration. She put down her notebook and opened the door.

"Hey, Chloe," Evie told her. "Mal's in her room."

"Thanks," Chloe said walking through the door. "I just came to check on Macie."

Evie smiled a little. She was glad that Mal had another best friend but it still made Evie a little sad. "Last I checked, Macie was still sleeping but I don't know."

"I'll just go check on them," Chloe told her, heading in the direction of Mal's room.

Evie sighed and sat back down on the couch.

A few moments later both girls emerged, laughing at some joke between them. Evie felt a pang of jealousy.

"You guys can have the living room, I'll just be in Macie's room," Evie grabbed her notebook and walked out.

"Is she okay?" Chloe asked.

"I think so, I'm not sure. I haven't talked to her much today." Mal shrugged. She sat down on the couch and Chloe followed suit.

"How's it going with her? Having her here."

Mal took a moment to answer, "it's weird."

"Why?" Chloe asked.

"Evie and I used to be inseparable. We did everything together. She was my family," Mal started, "I'm not exaggerating either. We both came from really fucked up childhoods and we took care of each other."

"So what happened?" Chloe asked.

"Umm...some really bad stuff happened to her and she ended our friendship." Mal really didn't want to get into the details but she knew her friend and Chloe wouldn't let it go.

"That sucks. I'm sorry." Chloe told her. "Do you think you guys will get back to how you were?"

Mal sighed, "I don't really know."

Evie stood at the edge of the door, out of sight from the others. She had heard her name and got up to listen.

"Things with her and I are complicated." Mal continued.

"Why? It's not like you guys used to date. Friendships are able to be fixed." Chloe answered.

Mal sat for a moment, chewing on her lip. Would having someone to confide in really be such a bad thing? "There are other feelings making things complicated."

"Oh?" Chloe raised her eyebrow.

"Evie has feelings for me. She always has."

"And how do you feel about her?" Chloe asked.

Evie knew the answer but listened harder. She wanted to know what Mal would say.

"She's a drug addict, Chlo," Mal said quietly.

"Yeah so are you, Mal."

"Thank you. Can you tell me something I don't already know?" Mal snapped back.

"That shouldn't affect your feelings."

"I can't be with her. I can't even trust her around my kid. How am I suppose to trust her enough to date her?" Mal asked.

"She saved your ass with Macie today and you know it. You told me she was fast asleep with her when you got home. Clearly she is good with her." Chloe tried to reason.

"Yeah until she relapsed and brings drugs around my child. You and I both know it's coming. It's just a matter of when." Mal said, standing up.

Evie ducked back a little so Mal couldn't see her shadow. She knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping but they were talking about her.

"And you can cross that bridge when you get there. You can't use her drug addiction to justify why you can't be with someone if you love them. She's trying to get better."

"I know she is but Chloe you don't get it. She's the reason I started taking drugs in the first place. She abandoned me just like everyone else did." Mal walked over to the tank that housed her mom.

Evie felt a pang at the words. Every time Mal said them, it hurt.

"Do you love her?" Chloe asked again, walking over to join Mal.

Mal stared at her mom, watching the lizard climb around. "Yes." She said almost silently.

Evie cursed because she hadn't heard Mal's reply. She wanted to know if Mal's feelings were genuine or just want Evie wanted to hear.

"Exactly. You love her." Chloe said, making Evie smile.

"I can't be with her. 2 drug addicts can't be together. We can't raise a kid together. What if one of us relapses and brings the other one down? What if they take Macie from me?" Mal started panicking at the thought. She had never told anyone but when she gave birth, the doctors debating taking her child away for its safety.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Breathe," Chloe told Mal.

Mal's eyes started glowing once again.

"Woah, dragon girl. Calm down." Chloe told her, pulling her into a hug.

Evie couldn't stand by while Mal was panicking. She walked into the living room and grabbed Mal's arm, "hey, calm down, M. Breathe." Mal let go of Chloe and collapsed into Evie's arms. "Shhhhhh, breathe." Evie stroked her hair, trying to calm her.

A few minutes passed before Mal calmed down and her eyes cooled off. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Evie told her, letting her go. "What happened?" She asked as if she hadn't heard the whole conversation.

"Oh, you know. I just...with Macie being sick and everything...I just panicked," Mal rambled and lied.

"Right," Evie said, glancing over at Chloe.

"I'm fine though. I'm going to go check on Macie," Mal said as she disappeared down the hall.

"What really happened?" Evie asked, glaring at Chloe.

"She just has a lot of feelings and fears right now. She will be okay." Chloe said, grabbing her jacket off the arm of the couch. "I should really get going."

"I'll let her know," Evie said, narrowing her eyes as she walked out the door.

Evie headed back to the bedrooms and relayed the message to Mal.

"You sure you're okay?" Evie asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mal lied, sitting next to Macie. "She's still out of it. I hate to wake her up but she needs some medicine."

"Do you need help?" Evie asked.

"No, I'm okay. You should shower and get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Mal told her, gently waking up Macie.

"Yeah, okay. Night." Evie said, waving a little as she walked out the door. She wasn't sure whether she felt happy at the conversation she overheard or upset.

"Night, Evie."


	13. Chapter 13

Trigger warnings apply for this chapter.

—

"So why don't you tel me what happened?" Dr. Darling asked her.

"Like all the details?" Evie asked. She had no desire to talk about the details about how it felt.

"As much as you want."

"Um..." Evie wasn't sure where to start. "Well I was walking back to my castle. It was really late. I had been at a ball with Mal and the boys. I was really tired so I left earlier than them. I decided to take a shortcut through the woods and I heard a rustling noise behind me." Evie paused for a moment so she could take a breath and steady herself. "Um...I turned to see what caused the noise and that's when the guy grabbed me from behind. He put his hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream." Evie could feel herself shaking as the flashbacks rushed across her eyes. "He said some things that I don't really remember and then pushed me against one of the trees. Um...then he kissed me and threw me on the ground. He ripped my dress so he could get easier access. At least that's what he said."

"And you don't know who he was?" The therapist asked her.

Evie just shook her head. "I...uh...I begged him to stop. I begged him to let me go. I had never had sex before. I tried to tell him that but he wouldn't listen. It just seemed to spur him on more. He told me I was from the isle so he knew I was lying. Everyone knows that the VK's experimented way more than the teens from Auradon. I had never been apart of that though. My friends were but not me." Evie tried to keep herself grounded as she continued. "He just kept going. He ripped my panties and when he...um...you know...I literally felt like I was being ripped." Evie felt the tears starting to fall as she spoke. The doctor didn't say anything, just watched her.

"It was over really quickly. I guess he enjoyed himself, I don't know. He got up, zipped up his pants and walked off." Evie wiped her cheek. "I just stayed on the ground for a while, hoping someone would find me. I couldn't move. Everything hurt so badly. There was blood all over my thighs. I don't know how long I was there. Hours maybe." Evie paused at the memory before continuing, "I finally managed to limp home. Every single step felt like knives." Tears were pouring down Evie's cheeks now as she struggled to speak. "When I finally made it home I showered. A lot. I scrubbed my skin until it was raw and bleeding. I just wanted him gone. I took razors to my wrists. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I walk home alone?"

It was quiet for a while before Dr. Darling spoke, "Did you tell anyone? Or get tested?"

Evie shook her head, "No, I cut myself off from the world, from my friends. I locked myself in my house and told everyone I didn't want them anymore."

"So how did you end up with the drugs?" The therapist asked.

"My ex, Doug, sells for extra money. I was tired of reliving everything over and over again. So I bought what drugs he had on hand. It was coke. It made me forget everything for a couple hours at a time. It wasn't permanent but it helped."

"It's easy to get addicted to that stuff when you're using it to numb yourself," the therapist told her.

"Yeah," Evie told her, wiping the tears away.

"How are you doing with that?"

"I'm okay," Evie lied. She didn't want the therapist to know what she was really thinking. She wanted coke so badly. Being forced to relive the worst moment of her life was making her crave it even more.

"Why don't we leave it for today? We've made you relive enough trama," The therapist smiled at Evie.

The blue haired woman stood up and waved before walking out the door. She stopped once she was outside and broke down completely. Every memory, every feeling, every single self hatred she had towards herself came rushing back. Everything was her fault. Every single bad thing in her life. In Mal's life. It was all on her. She was the reason Mal started using. She was the reason she had been raped. She was the reason that her, Mal, Carlos And Jay weren't friends anymore. She was the reason everything was broken.

If she had only let one of them walk her home that night, who knows where they would be. Her and Mal might be together. Drugs wouldn't be their go to thing. They would still be friends with the boys. She would have a family.

But she didn't. She had nothing. She had a sort of friend who couldn't trust her. She had a toddler that knew who she was but would just as quickly forget if she was gone. She had no other friends. Her dad was gone. Her mom was crazy.

Why was she avoiding the cocaine again? She couldn't remember. All she could think about was the blame. The guilt she felt. No one would miss her if she was gone.

She glanced down at her wrists and saw the scars from that night. The deep scars that she barely survived from. She remembered trying to stop the blood so feverishly. She had never meant to go that deep. She remembered the lightheaded feeling. How did she even survive that? She didn't know. She passed out and woke up in her bed the next day, wrists bandaged. Evie never knew how.

The only thing Evie knew was that she craved her white powder. The only thing she craved more was Mal. Evie knew that would never happen though. There wasn't a chance. Mal could never be with her.

Evie hit the speed dial button on her phone. "Hey, it's me. Meet me in the alley in 15 minutes." She hung up the phone and started the journey. It was only a few blocks away. She could make it. Only a few more minutes and she would have what she needed.

"Hey," She said 20 minutes later. "I can't pay you right now."

Doug shrugged. "That's fine. Next time." He handed her the yellow vile full of the beautiful powder she needed.

"Thanks." Evie opened up the vial and dipped her pinky nail in, like she had done a thousand times before. It felt amazing. Her body immediately relaxed at the sensation. She wiped her nose and smiled. "See ya."

Evie turned and walked away. She had no idea where she wanted to go but she knew she wanted to enjoy the feeling.

—-

Mal got home a little after 6 that evening. Macie was at a play date so Mal was excited to have a couple hours to herself. She went into her bathroom and drew a bubble bath, stripping off her clothes as she went. Her entire body relaxed once she sank into the bath. Her entire stress level washing away.

Far too soon after her bath started, it came to an end. She heard the door open and close and she knew it was Evie. Mal had received some really random texts from the other girl earlier and Mal wanted to check on her. She knew how hard therapy could be.

Mal threw on some clothes and walked out into the living room. She immediately saw Evie's tear stained face and ran over to her.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She pulled Evie into her arms but the other woman stayed completely limp, not hugging her back. "Evie?" She pulled away and looked into dark, glassy eyes. "Hey!" Mal shook her.

"Huh?" Evie replied, looking at the blonde for the first time, all of her emotions from the day rushing back to her. For the second time that day, she completely broke down, falling to the floor as Mal tried to hold her up.

"Evie, what happened? Are you okay?" Mal desperately tried to get her to y'all through the heartbreaking sobs.

"I...help me," Evie begged holding out the coke for Mal to take. "Please."

"Oh, baby," Mal took the vial and pulled Evie in closer. "Shhhhhh, I've got you." Mal was in shock at the emotional breakdown in front of her. She knew it was coming but she didn't think it would be so soon. "You're okay," Mal stroked the long blue hair falling down Evie's back.

Evie continued to sob, everything flashing in front of her eyes, over and over again. The guy who raped her, the razor blades, the drugs, the stuff she did while she was high, every bad thing she had ever done, crashing and overloading her senses. She couldn't breathe.

"Hey, hey you have to breathe. Come on." Mal told her, pulling away and looking into her eyes. "Deep breathes, Evie. Come on."

Evie matched her breath with the other woman's, slowing feeling her self calm as she tears continued to fall.

"You're okay." Mal repeated again. "You're safe."

All Evie could do was nod. Her entire body was weak. She didn't even know if she could move.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Mal told her. Evie whimpered a little but Mal walked off, taking the powder with her. Evie heard a flush and she knew Mal destroyed the drugs. She honestly didn't know if she was happy or sad about it.

"Are you okay?" Mal asked, returning to her spot on the floor. She took Evie's hand, letting her thumb rub circles along the back of it.

"I don't know." Evie answered honestly.

"You will be. I promise you." Mal told her. "I'm right here, E. I'm not going anywhere."

Mal pulled Evie into a hug again and held her close while her friend broke down in tears once again.

—-

Mal had finally calmed Evie down enough to move her into her bedroom. Evie laid with her head on Mal's chest while Mal continued to stroke the blue hair. Evie hadn't said much but had stopped crying.

Macie's play date turned into a play sleepover once Mal realized just how fragile Evie really was.

"Are you hungry?" Mal asked quietly.

Evie shook her head, "No."

"Do you need me to get you anything?" Mal asked, trying desperately to help.

"Please don't leave," Evie said, gripping onto Mal's shirt.

"I'm not going anywhere. It's okay." Mal squeezes Evie to reassure her. "Do you want to take a bath?" Mal tried.

Evie was quiet for a moment. A bath did sound nice. "Will you stay with me?"

"In the bath?" Mal asked. Evie nodded. "I'm not getting in the bath with you, Evie. I'll sit beside it though if you want."

"Okay," Evie said quietly. She felt so completely broken and numb. She didn't know the words to describe how she was feeling.

"Let me go start the water okay? I'll just be in the bathroom." Mal carefully stood up and walked into the other room. She turned the tap, checked the temperature and added some bubbles. "Okay, Evie. It's almost ready," she said moments later.

Evie walked into the bathroom, not completely stable on her feet. "Can you help me?"

Mal nodded, walking over to her friend and undressing her. It was amazing how something that could be so sexual just wasn't. Evie was in so much pain. It was heartbreaking. Mal gasped a little at the scars covering the dark skin in front of her. She traced along one on the girl's hip line. "E," Mal said, a note of sadness in her breath.

Evie tensed at the touch. She felt weird being completely exposed. Especially in front of Mal. It wasn't the first time Mal had seen her naked but it was the first time since she had been raped. Since her body was covered in scars. "I'm sorry," was all she managed.

Mal pulled Evie into a hug, squeezing her tight. "You never have to apologize for that okay?" Evie nodded against her.

Mal pulled away and gently kissed Evie on the lips. There was nothing romantic about it. It was just a sweet gesture to show that she was there for the other girl.

Evie half smiled a little at the kiss. She knew how Mal meant it and didn't take anything else from it.

"Come on, let's get you in the bath. You need to relax." Mal held Evie's hand as she climbed into the tub, Mal sitting down outside of it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Evie shook her head. "No. Not right now, if that's okay."

Mal nodded. "Of course."

The girls were quiet for a while. Evie shifting in the water was the only sound in the apartment.

"You can sleep with me tonight," Mal told her, breaking the silence.

"What about Macie?" Evie asked before her eyes grew large. "Oh my god, Mal. Where is Macie?" She started to panic, trying to stand up in the tub.

"Woah, chill. She's at a friends. She's spending the night so we can be alone." Mal told her.

"Alone?" Evie asked. She couldn't help the thoughts going through her head.

"Yeah, I figured you needed some time. It's easier when there isn't a 2 year old running around yelling 'blue' every 5 minutes." Mal smiled and Evie laughed. "It's nice to hear that again."

"What?" Evie asked, smiling.

"Your laugh. Your proper laugh. It's been so long." Mal told her.

"Oh, right," Evie replied, looking into the green eyes she had always loved. "I don't really laugh much anymore."

"You should. It's contagious." Mal told her, her eyes locked with the brown ones across from her.

They kept their contact for a couple minutes before Mal cleared her throat.

"Um...so yeah." She turned and looked at the door.

"Mal?" Evie asked. "You can, you know. If you want to."

Mal nodded, knowing what Evie was referring to. "I know." Mal sat for a moment fighting with her feelings and being responsible. She chewed the inside of her lip while she stared into space. Follow her head? Or her heart?

She looked over at Evie who was looking back at her, waiting for a decision. "You've has such a rough day, Evie."

"I have," she nodded.

Mal sat for a moment longer. "Fuck it," she said before leaning over and pressing her lips to Evie's, this time the love and passion was clear.

Evie was taken by surprise. She never actually thought Mal would do anything. She had just been teasing her. Evie smiled into the kiss, enjoying the feeling.

All too soon they broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other.

"Wow," Mal said.

Evie nodded, tracing her lips with her fingers.

"I...I should probably make us something to eat." Mal rambled, standing up and tripping over the rug. "Damn. Okay wow. Um...food. I'll go make some."

Evie couldn't help but laugh. It was nice to feel some emotion again. Mal's kiss brought her to a happier state of mind.

She was by no means okay but she was just going to bask in the memory of what just happened, instead of crying herself to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Mal and Evie spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing and sharing kisses. The nerves and embarrassment of their feelings melting away each time their lips met. Eventually they fell asleep, limbs entangled with each other's.

Mal woke up first in the morning and glanced over at the other woman. They had drifted apart as they slept and Evie's back was to her. Mal reached over and put her arm around the sleeping body, pulling her closer. Evie shifted next her before turning over and facing Mal.

"Good morning," Evie grinned, unable to believe it was really happening.

"Hi," Mal smiled back at her.

"Hi," Evie laughed. She didn't really know what to say. She had wanted this for so long and now she was so awkward.

"Did you sleep okay?" Mal asked her, reaching for the girl's hand, twisting their finger around each other's.

"I did. It's been a while since I've actually slept. It was nice to feel...safe." Evie told her, knowing how cheesy she sounded but it was true.

"I'm glad," Mal smiled at her.

The women laid in silence for a while, just enjoying the peacefulness between them.

"I'm really sorry for yesterday, Mal. I never meant to break down like that. I'm so embarrassed." Evie told her, looking down. "You never should've had to take care of me like that. I'm not one of your patients."

"Evie, I wasn't going to just let you fall apart or end up dead. I don't want you to think you can't cry or anything in front of me. I don't mind taking care of you." Mal told her, truly meaning her words. She was a nurse, so she was used to making sure her patients were okay but this was different. She cared so much about Evie, that something as simple as making sure she took a bath was okay with her.

"I really don't mean to be broken." Evie said quietly.

"You're not." Mal told her. "Do you wanna tell me what happened yesterday though? I mean, you were high. Very high. You should've been happy and hyper, not that depressed."

"I went to therapy. She made me talk about what happened." Evie started. "I guess it just really messed with my head."

"Okay, honey, I get how that could've led to the drugs. I don't get how you ended up so upset when you got home."

"Right. I um...I went and got the coke from Do-my dealer," Evie caught herself before saying Doug's name. "Once I was high, I walked around for a while, just enjoying the feeling. Before I knew it, I was at the castle."

"Your old castle?" Mal asked.

Evie nodded, "Yeah. I just wanted to see it again. I sold it and spent all the money on drugs. Being there again, seeing where I was raped. I don't know. It's like my brain snapped. All the memories came flooding back even more. I don't even know how I ended up back here," Evie confessed.

"I'm sorry," Mal said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"It all turned out okay, I guess," Evie laughed. She leaned in a kissed the other woman.

Mal laughed once they pulled apart, "I guess it did."

"I do have one question though. Do you know who helped me that night? I mean I should've died. I woke up, in bed, my wrists bandaged. Did you do that?" Evie asked.

Mal shook her head, "No, I didn't realize anything was wrong until the next day."

"I wonder who it was," Evie said.

"Carlos maybe? I mean he was taking anatomy that year. I think. Maybe he bandaged you up? Although I don't know why he wouldn't have told me what happened," Mal finished.

"Maybe." Evie smiled, "way too many people had keys to that place."

"Yeah," Mal laughed, leaning in to kiss Evie again.

"So what does this mean...for us? I mean what are we?" Evie asked. She knew she was rambling and ruining the moment but she wanted to know.

"I don't know," Mal answered honestly. "I'm sorry, Evie. I just don't know."

It hurt Evie a little to hear that but she understood.

"Evie, I like you. Please don't think I don't. I have since we were kids. Everything is just complicated. Between the drugs and Macie, I'm scared to start something new with you." Mal admitted. Being vulnerable wasn't the easiest thing for her.

"Why are you so scared? It's just me." Evie asked her, running her fingers along Mal's arm.

"I mean what happens since we are both drug addicts? Or if we get married? Or if we break up and Macie has to deal with that. It all scares me." Mal told her.

"Slow down, dragon girl." Evie laughed. "I don't remember anyone proposing or promising marriage. There's been no mention of love, only a handful of kisses."

Mal turned red, her eyes starting to glow in embarrassment. "Right...I...I..."

"Mal, breathe," Evie laughed, leaning in kiss Mal once again, trying to calm her. "Look, I have a lot of stuff that's wrong with me. I'm completely broken."

"You're not broken, Evie," Mal told her for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"That's not my point, Mal. My point is that just because we kissed, doesn't mean I'm ready for marriage and love either," Evie's told her. "I need slow. I need to feel safe. I haven't really ever been with anyone. Not really. I could use some slow."

"Really? You're okay with that?" Mal asked, surprised.

"Mal, I want to be with you. I always have. If that means slow, I'm okay with that." Evie smiled.

"Thanks, E," Mal smiled, feeling some relief at the words.

"Kiss me again?" Evie asked, grinning.

"Happily," Mal laughed before pulling Evie into another kiss.

—

Mal made her way through the hospital at the end of her shift. Her whole body was exhausted. It hadn't been a particularly busy day, but she had run from floor to floor more times than she could remember.

"You heading out?" Sofia asked her as she made it back to the ER desk.

"Finally," Mal told her, "I was supposed to leave 2 hours ago."

"Oh the joys of being a nurse," Sofia laughed.

"Gotta love it." Mal grabbed her bag off the shelf.

"Any plans for tonight?" Sofia asked her while she typed up patient information.

"A nice, long bath," Mal told her.

"Where's Macie?" Sofia asked.

"She's with Chloe. I have to pick her up on the way home. With any luck, she will be asleep not long after I put her to bed."

"What about that girl that's staying with you? Ava? Eva?" Sofia asked, scrunching up her forehead.

Mal laughed, "Evie. What about her?"

"Why isn't she watching Macie? That way she doesn't have to go back and forth so much." Sofia stood up, grabbing on the tablets and leaning against the counter.

"That's a...work in progress." Mal said slowly. "I'm just not that comfortable with a drug addict watching my kid. Not at least until she has more time clean."

Sofia nodded, "That's understandable. Just remember that some drug addicts get clean and manage to become nurses." She winked at Mal. "Give her a chance, okay? It'll be good for Macie to spend time with someone other than Chloe."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Mal rolled her eyes, waving goodbye and walking off.

—-

Mal walked through the door about an hour later and stopped in her tracks. She breathed in the smell of dinner. She put Macie down and shut the door behind her.

"You made dinner?" Mal asked, walking into the apartment completely, making her way to the kitchen. She was met with Evie's giant grin.

"I did!" Evie exclaimed.

"Um...can you cook?" Mal asked warily, leaning out to check on Macie. The toddler had found her favorite doll and was currently brushing its hair. Mal looked back at Evie whose lip had turned into a pout. Mal leaned in a kissed it away. "I'm just kidding."

"I can cook!" Evie protested as Mal laughed at her.

"I'm sure you can, E." Mal said looking over at the stovetop. "So what did you make?"

"Maple glazed pork chops with corn, mac and cheese, and rolls." Evie danced a little in place, feeling very proud of herself.

"I'm impressed," Mal told her. "When will it be ready?"

Evie looked over at the timer on her phone, "5 minutes."

"I'm going to go get Macie changed then. She definitely had a dirty diaper,"

Mal laughed, "the joys of motherhood."

"Yeah I'm going to stay here with the food." Evie turned away, her blue hair swishing.

Mal walked over to her tiny daughter and held out her hand, "Mace, come on, let's go get you changed."

Macie shook her head and went back to her doll.

"Sorry, wasn't really giving you a choice." Mal picked up a squirming Macie and carried her through to her bedroom.

Mal changed Macie and then changed out of her scrubs into some yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt. She looked in the mirror and played with her hair for a bit. She really couldn't decide if she wanted to go back to her original purple.

"Ready!" Evie yelled from the other room.

"Blue!" Macie yelled as she took off running out of the bedroom.

"Incoming!" Mal yelled to warn Evie.

"Got her," Evie yelled back as she grabbed the tiny toddler before she hit the stove.

"Thanks," Mal said as she made her way into the kitchen and grabbed her mini, quickly getting her settled into her high chair.

"How long does she have to eat in that thing?" Evie asked, playing the food for the 3 girls.

"Until she can stay seated at the table without running around like a maniac,"

Mal chucked, taking Macie's plate and cutting up the food into small pieces.

"Sorry, kid," Evie winked at Macie before taking the other 2 plates into the dining room, setting them in front of Mal and Evie's seats.

"So what did you do today?" Mal asked, sitting down.

"I sketched a little, fed your mom, mostly just relaxed." Evie told her, taking a bite of food. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Evie stood up and grabbed her phone off the counter. "I talked to Dizzy today! Guess what?" Evie said, so excited to share what she had found out.

"What?" Mal asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Dizzy's pregnant!" Evie exclaimed, shoving her phone in Mal's face. "She sent me the sonogram!"

Mal took the phone and looked at the picture. She had no idea what she was looking at but faked excitement. She couldn't even read her own sonograms when she was pregnant, let alone someone else's."That's so exciting! But ummm isn't she a little young? She's what? 18?"

"And you were 19," Evie answered.

"Yeah I wouldn't exactly recommend getting pregnant the way I did. A drug infused hook up you can't remember. Not exactly the best start to motherhood," Mal rolled her eyes.

"Who cares! I can't wait to buy the baby so much stuff! I mean Dizzy is like my little sister so this is my niece or nephew!" Evie was so excited for her old friend.

"Slow down, Evie." Mal laughed. "Did you talk to Dizzy about what's been going on with you?"

Evie's smile turned to a frown, "No, but I'm meeting her tomorrow to catch up."

"Just make sure you give her the chance to be upset with you or potentially not want you around her kid for a while," Mal warned. She knew first hand both sides of the coin.

"I know," Evie told her, sitting back down. "I'm just so excited for her."

Mal smiled at Evie's giant grin. It was nice to see her happy and bubbly again.

Apparently Macie was tired of being ignored at that point and flipped her food upside down, her plate clattering loudly.

"Macie Evelyn!" Mal yelled, immediately getting up taking the toddler out of her chair. "Go," Mal commanded, green eyes glowing. Macie looked at her mom for a moment before throwing herself down on the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Macie! Go to your room, now!"

"Woah! Mal, shes just a baby. You can't yell at her like that!" Evie stood in between Macie and Mal.

"She's my kid and she needs to listen to me." Mal snapped back.

"Back off, Mal." Evie commanded, reaching down and picking up Macie, carrying her through to her bedroom. Evie made sure the toddler was settled before closing the door and heading back to the living room. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Don't, Evie." Mal warned but Evie ignored it.

"This isn't the Isle, Mal. There are rules to parenting here. You can't scream at a toddler for throwing her food on the ground." Evie stood with her hands on her hips, challenging the blonde.

"She's my kid." Mal told her.

"I don't care. Do you want Auradon Child Services here? They will take her in a heartbeat. You can't scream at her like that." Evie told her, not backing down.

"Whatever," Mal told her, turning around to clean up the mess.

"Look at me, Mal," Evie told her. Mal slowly turned back around, green eyes hitting chocolate ones. "Your eyes are glowing. You have to learn to control the dragon. You can't lose your temper like this anymore. I don't know if that means anger management or what but you need to figure it out. It's not fair to raise that little girl the way we were raised."

Mal took a few breaths, upset with herself for over reacting. After a few moments, she felt her eyes calm down and she looked at Evie again. "Better?"

Evie nodded. "I'm going to go sit with your daughter while you figure out your next plan. And that plan had better be a way to parent better." Evie flipped around, her blue hair flying behind her as she stormed off. She knew she had no right to butt into Mal's parenting but she didn't care. No one deserved to be raised the way they had been. It was no wonder they were so fucked up.

Mal stood for a moment, her brain on overload. She knew she had anger issues. It was the dragon in her. She had always struggled to control it. Evie was right though, she definitely didn't want to raise her daughter the way she had been raised. Her mother was insane. She didn't want Macie to ever think of her like that.

Mal finished cleaning up the mess. She looked over at her and Evie's food, sighing. Guess they would finish eating later.


	15. Chapter 15

"So," Evie said from the bed, "when exactly were you planning on telling me that your daughter was named after me."

Mal stuck her head out from the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, "Now?" Mal laughed, putting the brush back in her mouth.

"Why did you name her after me?" Evie asked, leaning on the edge of the bed so she could see into the bathroom.

"I was high on just having a baby. I didn't know what I was doing," Mal winked before rinsing her mouth out.

"Come on, M. Why?" Evie sulked.

"I don't know. I guess so apart of you would always be with me."

"I wasn't dead, Mal." Evie said.

"You were to me," Mal answered, climbing into bed next to Evie.

"Right. Sorry," Evie apologized.

"Anyway so I was in the hospital, I had just given birth. They asked me what her name was. I didn't even hesitate. It wasn't even a conscious decision. The nurses weren't exactly surprised though. I kept demanding they find you in between contractions." Mal laughed.

"Seriously?" Evie giggled at the thought. "I'm sad I missed it." She leaned over and kissed Mal's bare shoulder.

"Me too. Although I probably would've broken your hand. I was not so pleasant that day." Mal admitted.

"I can only imagine. At least you were able to handle the pain. I don't think I could've." Evie told her, snuggling under the covers and resting her head on Mal's chest.

"You would be surprised. It was so painful but look what I got out of it. I mean, Macie is perfect." Mal smiled, running her fingers through blue locks.

"She is pretty perfect." Evie said, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of Mal's hands in her hair.

"I never really thought about being a mom. I mean Maleficient was batshit crazy. Once she was born though, it was like a switch flipped in my brain." Mal thought for a moment before speaking again. "That's how I know you're right about my anger issues. I never should've lost my temper at her. Over a plate."

"She's a kid, Mal. She's going to mess up and drive you insane but she's still practically a baby. She doesn't understand yelling at her." Evie told her, sitting up to look in the bright green eyes she loved. "I'm not saying you can never yell at your kid. It'll happen. But right now, she's too little."

"I know. I feel really bad." Mal told her.

"Don't. She was fine when you put her to bed. You just have to be careful. Control your dragon and all that."

Mal scrunched up her nose and smiled, "and what about your witchy side?"

"What about it? I'm an awesome witch." Evie laughed.

Mal rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you're here, E."

"Me too, M." Evie said, leaning down to kiss her. She wanted nothing more than to take the kiss further but she didn't want to push the smaller girl. Evie moaned a little at the kiss and immediately pulled away, embarrassed. "Sorry," she stuttered.

"Don't be. I liked it," Mal smirked, her cheeks blushing.

"Is that so?" Evie arched her eyebrow before leaning down to kiss Mal again.

"Yeah, it is," Mal said as she pulled away for a moment before reattaching their lips again.

Both girls spent the time enjoying each other, exploring parts they had never experienced. Moans here and there escaping between kisses. Tongues dueling and dancing with each other.

Panting they pulled away, resting their foreheads on the other, smiling and giggling.

"Why did we never do this before?" Mal laughed, pulling Evie into her arms.

"Mmm, good question," Evie smiled, nestling her head in the crook of Mal's neck, wrapping her arms and legs around her.

"So how are you feeling? Any withdrawal issues?" Mal asked wrapping her arms around Evie, pulling her as close as she could.

"I'm mostly just trying to stay distracted. You're definitely helping with that. It's been hard though. I'm getting there. Wanting to be clean is half the battle, I suppose." Evie told her, running her fingers up and down Mal's stomach, right below where her tank top had risen up.

Mal nodded in response, "it is. You will never get clean until you actually want to."

Evie could feel her eyes starting to get heavy. Mal was so warm and comfortable that Evie couldn't help it. She yawned into Mal, closing her eyes.

Mal felt the girl yawn and knew that Evie would be asleep within minutes. "Evil dreams, E," Mal whispered, kissing the top of Evie's head before closing her own eyes too.

—-

"Mal?" Evie ran around the forest, looking for her girlfriend but she couldn't find her. "Mal!?" Evie screamed over and over again, her throat raw. The purple haired beauty was no where in sight. "Mal! Please. Answer me!" Evie collapsed onto the wet, cold ground beneath her, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Evie! Wake up!" Mal demanded, shaking the other woman.

Evie felt herself being ripped away from her nightmare into total darkness. "Mal!" Evie shouted again.

"Hey, I'm right here. It's okay." Mal pulled her in close, feeling Evie shaking against her. Evie sobbed into Mal's shoulder, gripping her so tightly, nails dug into her skin. "What happened?"

Evie looked around the room, her brain catching up to her emotions. The clock flashed red. 3:17am. "I'm sorry. It's so late. I didn't mean to wake you up. I can go sleep on the couch."

"Don't be stupid. You're not going anywhere." Mal reassured her. "What happened."

Evie tried to remember but the longer she was awake, the fuzzier the dream became. "I couldn't find you."

Mal gently ran her fingers up and down Evie's arm, trying to calm her.

"I was in the woods. I think the ones outside my castle. I don't know though. I couldn't find you." Evie told her, her heart still racing.

"I'm right here, okay? You're in bed. We aren't near any woods. We are both safe," Mal told her. "I promise."

Evie nodded, gripping onto Mal.

"I do however need to go check on my kid. I'll be right back." Mal kissed the top of Evie's head.

Evie took a few breaths, still trying to calm herself. She wasn't sure what the dream meant. From what she could tell, it was that night. The night of the ball. The night with the guy. She didn't know though. Her nightmares were the worst part about getting clean.

"Hi, Evie," Mal said in a singsong voice as she carried a sleepy Macie into the room.

"Blue," Macie said, slurring her words as she reached out for Evie.

"Glad to see she remembers who gave her life," Mal laughed as she leaned down and released her child onto the bed. Macie immediately curled up with Evie, already falling back asleep.

"I'm sorry, did I wake her up?" Evie asked, draping one arm around the small child.

"Yeah but she's okay. She falls asleep pretty quickly." Mal looked down as she crawled into bed and saw that Macie was in fact already asleep again. "Are you going to be okay" Mal asked, looking over into Evie's worried, brown eyes.

"I hope so," Evie replied, reaching across Macie to take Mal's hand. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Mal smiled, getting comfortable again. It wasn't as easy with a toddler in between them but she managed. "I would say Evil dreams but we don't really want that. Sweet dreams, E."

"Sweet dreams, M." Evie replied, closing her eyes once again.

—-

"Dizzy!" Evie's exclaimed, getting up and running across the courtyard, throwing her hands around the smaller girl.

"Evie!" Dizzy squealed, returning the hug.

"It's so good to see you!" Evie exclaimed, releasing Dizzy. "Sit! Sit!"

Dizzy sat down at the table and grinned. "I can't believe I'm actually getting to see you again. How are you? Where have you been?"

"Let's not talk about me." Evie deflected. She wasn't ready for Dizzy's opinion of her to fall. "How's the baby?"

"Good," Dizzy said, eying Evie with a look of skepticism. She chose to ignore the comment for now. "It's good. Measuring on track and everything. I'm about 13 weeks."

"That's so exciting! I'm assuming you and Celia are doing well?" Evie took a sip of her drink.

"Yep. Everything is going well. We are exciting. Nervous though."

"If Mal can be a mom, you can be a mom," Evie laughed. "I gotta ask though, Diz...you're only 18...how? Why?"

"We had a friend who was willing to help us have a baby but he found out he had to leave. So we figured why not. I mean people around here get engaged in high school." Dizzy shrugged.

"I'm really happy for you. I can't wait to meet it. Aunt Evie. I like it!" Evie's smile grew bigger at the thought.

"Where have you been, Evie? It's been years since I've seen you. I needed you and you were nowhere." Dizzy said, causing Evie to feel guilty once again. She hurt everyone she had ever cared about.

"Umm well..." Evie started, wringing her hands. "I had some stuff happen. Some not so great stuff. And I got addicted to drugs and have mostly been living on the streets. Crashing here and there when I could."

"What?" Dizzy asked, leaning back in her chair. "Drugs?"

Evie just nodded. She had never felt such shame in her choices. Having someone who looked up to you look at you like you're scum really hurt.

Dizzy was quiet for a long time. Evie didn't know what to say or do so she just watched the younger girl.

"I'm sorry, Diz. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Evie finally broke the silence.

"Yeah. Me too." Dizzy looked down at her hands. "You just left. You left me. I needed my big sister and you were gone."

"I hurt a lot of people but I couldn't deal with anything anymore. I couldn't function." Evie admitted.

"What happened? What caused it." Dizzy asked, pushing.

Evie looked around. This wasn't exactly something she wanted to discuss in public. "Rape," she whispered, almost silently.

Dizzy expression immediately changed from one of anger and hurt to concern.

"Are you okay?"

Evie nodded. "Clean too. Mal's been helping me."

"I can't believe you guys are still friends. I figured that unrequited sexual tension would've broken you guys by now." Dizzy said, only half joking.

"Hey!" Evie laughed. "We are actually sort of together, thank you."

Dizzy squealed. "Really?!"

Evie covered her ears. Nice to see some things hadn't changed. She nodded. "A couple weeks now."

"Took you long enough."

"Yeah, Yeah." Evie rolled her eyes.

"Are you still designing?" Dizzy asked, changing the subject.

"I'm sort of getting back into it. I haven't done much the last 4-5 years." Evie's face fell. She really missed her old life and wished she could just get back to that normal.

"Well I'm happy to design with you anytime you want." Dizzy told her. Just then Dizzy's phone beeped. "Crap, I gotta go. I'm sorry. I'll text you okay. I'm so glad I got to see you." Dizzy stood up quickly. Evie stood up as well and reached over to hug her.

"I'm so happy to see you too. Bye, Dizzy."

Evie started to walk to the bus stop when she saw Doug walking over to her. She looked around, trying to think of a way to escape.

"Hey, Evie," Doug said, seeing her before she could get away.

"Oh, hey Doug," Evie said, smiling. "I gotta get going." She started walking away.

"Hey" Doug said causing Evie to turn back around. "Here." He held out his closed hand.

"No, thanks," Evie said, trying to walk away again.

Doug walked up to her and put the small vial into her pocket before walking away. Evie wrapped her hand around it, feeling her heart starting to pound. Evie leaned against the railing, turning the coke around in her hand, still in her pocket. So much of her wanted it. She pulled it out and looked at it, glancing around to make sure no one could see her. The white powder looked so enticing. One little bit wouldn't hurt. Right?

Evie sat debating for a while before her phone snapped her back to reality. It was her alarm. She was supposed to be home to help with dinner. She shoved the coke back into her pocket and headed home.

—

"Hey, babe," Mal smiled when Evie walked through the door.

"Hi, Mal," Evie smiled, taking off her jacket before reaching down to pick up Macie who had toddled over to her. "Hi, Mace." Evie carried the child over to Mal, leaning down to give her a kiss. "What's for dinner?"

"Salisbury steak," she smiled.

"Yum," Evie replied. "I'm going to go get changed." Evie set Macie back down and headed towards the bedroom.

"I got you a key made today. So you have an official one of your own. Where are your keys?" Mal said loudly towards the bedroom. No reply. "Hmmm," Mal said before walking over to the blue jacket on the couch. She shook the coats and could hear the keys jingle. She reached her hand in and pulled out the keys and the yellow vial. Mal stood there, frozen in shock.

"What did you say? I couldn't-" Evie stopped short when she saw Mal. "Why are you going through my jacket?"

"I was looking for your keys," Mal's voice was spacey, her mind lost in thought. "Why do you have this?"

"It's not what it looks like, I swear," Evie said quickly, throwing her arms up.

Mal could quickly feel her anger boiling up, "it looks like you brought drugs into my house for the third fucking time!"

"No, baby, no I swear. I didn't. I mean I did but I didn't use them. You can drug test me." Evie rambled, trying to get Mal to listen.

"Why do you have it?" Mal repeated, her eyes starting to get warm.

"I ran into my dealer when I was out with Dizzy. He gave them to me. I told him no but he put them in my pocket. I swear." Evie tried so hard.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe you would be this stupid. Again. Do you think just because we are together that I will let you bring drugs around Macie?" Mal demanded.

"Mal, come on. Calm down. Your eyes. Please. I swear to you I didn't do them." Evie walked over to Mal and grabbed her hand. "Baby, please. Please calm down. I'm sorry but I didn't do it."

Mal's anger and heartbreak were written all over her face. "You have a choice to make." Mal handed Evie the vial. "Choose. Me and Macie or cocaine."

Evie held the vial in her hand, looking up at the woman she loved. "Mal, I choose you guys. Every time." She walked off and flushed the drugs down the toilet. She reappeared in front of the blonde. "I choose you, okay? I'm sorry." Evie leaned in and kissed Mal in apology. "You're the only thing I've wanted since I was 15, Mal. I choose you."

Mal felt her eyes calm down but her anger inside was still raging. "Why did Doug give those to you?"

Evie was caught off guard, "how do you know it's Doug?"

"I just do." Mal told her, running over to the stove to check on her food. It was slightly burned but okay.

"I don't know why," Evie told her, grabbing the plates as Mal filled them, carrying them through to the dining room. "He just did. He likes that power over me, I guess."

Evie's last words caused Mal's eyes to flash green for a moment before she shook it off. She refused to let anyone have power over Evie anymore. Now she just needed to find Doug and teach him that.

—

Mal waited until Evie's breath evened out before she got out of bed. She quickly scribbled a note in case the other girl woke up.

It didn't take long before the blonde was walking through the alley's downtown, searching for Doug. Finally she saw him and she ran up behind him.

"Hey," Mal yelled. Doug turned around and Mal hit in square in the jaw. Pain seared through her hand as her hand hit bone.

"What the hell!" Doug yelled, doubling over in pain.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!? How dare you get her addicted to that shit?" Mal shoved him, backing up so he couldn't swing at her.

"Better than heroin or meth," Doug said, pain in every word.

"Seriously?" Mal asked incredulously before kicking him square in the balls causing him to fall down completely. "If I ever find out you've gone near her again, I will kill you. Do you understand me?" Mal was right in his face, saying the words slow enough for him to grasp. All he did was nod before Mal kicked him one last time for good measure.

Mal walked off feeling better but her hand was throbbing. She knew it wasn't broken but she had no doubt there was some internal bruising. She tried to shake the pain off but her hand seared even more.

Driving home proved to be slightly harder but she made it back as quickly as she could. She opened her apartment door and ran straight into Evie.

"Where have you been? It's 1 in the morning." Evie demanded, her eyes glancing down at the swollen hand. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Mal lied, walking into the kitchen and grabbing an ice pack out of the freezer. It felt amazing on her hand.

"Try again." Evie warned. She readjusted the ice pack so it fit better on Mal's hand, then crossed her arms and glared.

"I punched someone," Mal shrugged.

"Who? And why?" Evie asked.

"Doug," was all Mal had to say.

"You've got to be kidding me. Mal!" Evie was not pleased. "You had no right to do that."

"I have every right. You're my girlfriend and he keeps giving you drugs," Mal explained, walking into the living room.

"Girlfriend?" Evie repeated, stopping in her tracks.

"Shut up, that's not important right now." Mal said, sitting down on the couch, adjusting her hand so it caused the least amount of pain.

"Right," Evie smiled before anger took it's place on her features again. "Have you lost your mind? You can't go beating up drug dealers. Especially mine."

"Why not?" Mal asked. Evie sat down next to her.

"I'm an adult, Mal. I can make my own choices and defend myself." Evie told her.

"Your choices involve my child now. I will defend her and you as much as I can."

"How chivalrous," Evie rolled her eyes. "You'll be lucky if you don't get an assault charge for this. Was he okay?"

"Shaken up, but he will live." Mal explained.

Evie just shook her head, "I can't believe you did this."

"I'm sorry." Mal told her. She was sorry. Well sorry for upsetting Evie, not so much for beating up Doug. She had wanted to do that for years.

"Yeah." Evie replied.

"Is Macie still asleep?" Mal asked.

"I checked on her when I woke up. She was passed out. That was about half an hour ago or so." Evie replied, standing up and walking over to the bedroom. She glanced in and saw that Macie was still passed out in her room. "Still out of it."

Mal smiled. It was nice having someone else around to help with her child. "Thanks. I'm going to head back to sleep, if that's okay."

Evie nodded, "I'll be in in a little while. I'm going to sketch some. My anxiety is a little too high for sleep right now.

"Okay," Mal stood up and walked over to Evie and quickly kissed her. "Goodnight."

"Night," Evie replied, absentmindedly. Her brain was spinning. She grabbed her sketchbook off the coffee table and settled herself on the couch, the days events going through her mind. She picked up her pencil and started to draw.


	16. Chapter 16

"We should go for a picnic!" Evie exclaimed, walking out of the bathroom. Her hair was still soaked and her towel was snuggling wrapped around her. Mal's breath hitched a little but she was snapped out of it at Evie's words.

"A picnic?" Mal asked slowly.

"Yeah! You and me and Macie!" Evie grabbed the comb off the dressed and started making her way through her blue locks.

"A picnic?" Mal repeated again, watching Evie's movements to see if she was joking.

"Oh come on. It'll be fun." Evie smiled.

"Evie, the last time I had a picnic, I ran away to the Isle." Mal reminded her.

"That was like 6 years ago." Evie rolled her eyes. "Please? I could use the time with just you guys. I keep having these nightmares and I'm trying to stay distracted."

Mal gave in a nodded, "okay."

Evie clapped and stood up quickly. "Yes! I'll do everything. I'll pack a lunch and I'm so excited!" Evie walked over to Mal and leaned in close, "I'll even pack strawberries." Evie winked before turning around and heading back into the bathroom.

Mal took a deep breath before following her. "You can't pack strawberries if my kid is going, E."

Evie feigned innocence, "Why?"

Mal pursed her lips, "you know why."

Evie just shook her head, a devious sparkle in her eye.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Mal asked.

Evie grinned and nodded.

"Strawberries turn me on and you know it." Mal said quietly, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, I know." Evie leaned over and kissed Mal on the cheek. "I'm just messing with you. No strawberries."

Both girls were still trying to take their relationship from friends to more than and it was hard. They didn't know where the line was and they were both so nervous and awkward about anything relating to sex. Neither had been pushing for it because neither of them knew how. Sexual tension would build up but they didn't know how to initiate it without it being awkward.

Evie was terrified of having sex with Mal, no matter how much she craved it. She had never slept with a girl for one. She wasn't even sure what to do. Secondly, she had never had consensual sex that wasn't fueled by drugs. Evie had slept with a lot of men but it was always so she could get something. She needed a place to crash, she would give a blow job. She needed some drugs but had no money, her first answer was sex. She had never enjoyed it. Not once. Evie wasn't entirely sure if that was because she was high and doing it out of necessity or because she really wasn't into guys. Her greatest fear was having sex sober though. Would she be able to be touched without flashbacks and panic attacks?

Mal's experience with sex was far larger than Evie's. Even before she was doing drugs, she slept with a lot of people on the isle. She knew what she was doing and she was good at it too. That's what made sleeping with Evie more difficult. Her emotions were at play instead of just being horny. Mal was terrified of pushing Evie too far. She couldn't imagine that anyone who had been raped so violently would be okay with being touched like that.

"No, strawberries," Mal smiled again. "Finish getting ready, okay? I'll get Macie dressed." She leaned over and captured Evie's lips with her own before resting her forehead on the other. "One day, okay?"

Evie nodded, "One day." She knew exactly what Mal meant by it and it made me feel better to know that Mal wasn't pushing her or pressuring her. She was working on her confidence but it was hard with everything else going on in her brain.

—-

"I'm so excited!" Evie said as they walked along the enchanted lake, making their way to the ruins where Mal used to picnic with Ben.

Mal laughed as they walked. It was nice to see the old Evie coming back. She was still way too thing and her eyes hadn't fully returned to the sparkle they always had but she was making progress.

Macie pulled on their arms as she tried to get them to move faster across the bridge.

"Slow down, kid, were coming," Mal laughed. "It's just over there." Mal pointed.

"Excellent," Evie said, quickening her speed. She and Macie reached it first and Evie began setting up her picnic basket.

"Macie, stay away from the edge," Mal warned. Macie was walking around but she didn't always have the best balance. The last thing they needed was a soaking wet toddler. "This looks great, E. Thank you."

"I just wanted a family day out," Evie admitted, finishing her setup.

"Family?" Mal asked.

Evie froze. "I didn't mean... I mean you and I aren't...And Macie isn't my...I mean...I'm sorry," Evie finished, looking down at her hands.

Mal couldn't help smile at the flustered girl. It was stuff like this that made Mal know just how in love she was. Not that she was ready to admit that but it was true. She had been head over heels for years. "I like it, Evie. You and I have always been family, now we are just a different kind."

Evie blushed before leaning over to kiss Mal. She could've kissed her all day but pulled away. She left her eyes closed for a moment, a smile on her face, "mmmm."

"Shut up," Mal laughed, teasingly pushing her away. "Mace, come eat baby."

Macie looked at her mom before turning around and continuing what she was doing before.

"Macie," Evie warned.

Macie looked up at Evie and squinted her eyes before making her way over to the blanket, plopping herself down next to Evie.

"Seriously, why does she listen to you and not me?" Mal asked. While she thought it was cute, it kind of bothered her. Macie had always listened fairly well but with Evie around, she never listened to her anymore.

"I'm new and shiny. It'll wear off. I promise." Evie promised her. "You're her mom, not me. I'm more like fun Aunt Blue."

"You're more than that, E." Mal took a bite of the sandwich Evie made her. "I'm really happy we are together and I want you to know that I...I trust you." Mal stuttered.

Evie half smiled, not believing a word coming out of the blondes mouth. "That's sweet, M but I know you need more time. It's okay. I swear." Evie stood up and made her way to wear Mal was sitting, Macie watching her movements. Evie sat down next to Mal and grabbed her hand, leaning her head on Mal's shoulder. "You and Macie are what I want. I'm not fucking that up, okay? I know you need more time before I can be alone with her. I need to prove to you that I can be more than just a drug addict."

"I admire you." Mal said quietly. She moved and made Evie lift her head. The shorter girl leaned over and captured Evie's lips once again, bringing her hand up to the rosy cheek in front of her. This kiss was deeper than the first. Mal moaned the smallest sound, Evie just barely hearing it. They let themselves enjoy the feeling for a little while before Mal pulled away, panting slightly at the feeling. "We have to stop."

"Why?" Evie asked, eyes still closed, completely lost in Mal.

Mal laughed, "Macie."

Both girls looked over at the toddler who had managed to get yoghurt all over her face and the blanket.

"Right," Evie laughed. "I got it." She stood up and went back to her originally space, grabbed a napkin and started cleaning up the mess. Evie stopped when she heard a small noise. She glanced up and saw that Mal had heard it to. "What is that?"

Mal looked over at the bushes and saw a teeny tiny little face looking over at them. "Oh my gosh. What is that?"

Evie stood up and walked over. "Oh," she squealed, "it's a kitten!" She scooped up the tiny being. It barely fit in her hands. "Where's your mom, little guy!" She glanced around and saw no other sign of movement. Evie carried her new friend back to Mal and Macie.

"Evie, put it back," Mal demanded.

"No way, it's so tiny! We can't just leave it here." Evie showed the kitten to Macie who was freaking out in excitement.

"Macie, don't touch it." Mal stood up to stop her.

"Mal, calm down. It's just a kitten." Evie laughed. She held up up for Mal to get a closer to look. "Look at that face."

"No way, Evie. I know what you're thinking and no." Mal scrunched her nose up. She wasn't the biggest fan of animals.

"Baby, please," Evie pouted, holding the kitten up to her face.

Mal rolled her eyes, "Fine but it's your responsibility. You can take it to the vet tomorrow."

"Yes!" Evie cheered. Before giving Mal a quick kiss. Mal couldn't help but smile at the excitement.

—-

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Evie's looked up, immediately recognizing that voice.

"Actually, I'm the one that brought the cat in," Evie grinned, getting up and pulling the blonde haired boy into a hug. "Hi, Carlos." She let him go, "or should I saw Dr. de Vil?"

"Not quite," Carlos laughed. "I have a couple years left. I think I'll stick to Carlos then anyway."

"I know that feeling," Evie laughed. "How are you? How have you been?"

"Good, good. Just trying to make it through vet school. I'm doing my internship right now, clearly. How are you? You look good."

"Well that's a lie," Evie told him, knowing full well she didn't look good at all. "I'm okay though. One day at a time and all that."

"Come on back and we will look at that little one." Carlos told her, directing her to the exam room.

Evie picked up the small carrier and followed him.

"So where have you been? I heard rumors but I didn't know what to believe." Carlos asked her. He carefully took the small kitten out and started the exam.

"I'm guessing the rumors you heard are probably the truth. Drugs, sex, overdose." Evie rambled.

"Those are the ones," Carlos smiled at her. "Are you doing okay?"

Evie nodded, "I'm trying."

"That's good, I'm glad." Carlos listened to the kittens heart for a moment and then checked the gums. "Well this little guy seems pretty healthy. Does he have a name yet?"

"Not really. Macie wants to name him Meeko but she calls me blue so she doesn't really get a say." Evie laughed.

"Macie? Is that your daughter?" Carlos asked.

"Oh no," Evie stuttered, "I mean no. Kind of. I don't know how to answer that. She's Mal's daughter."

"Mal has a daughter? Seriously?" Carlos asked, shock covering his face.

Evie helped put the kitten into the carrier. "She does. Weird right?"

"I'm just glad you 2 are still friends. I heard a few rumors about her too." Carlos sat down in the chair next to Evie's.

"Yeah, those ones are probably true too. We've had a rough few years." Evie admitted.

"At least you guys were together," Carlos shrugged.

"Not so much. It's actually only been a couple months since we came back into each other's lives."

Carlos scrunched up his face, "What happened? You two were always together. Practically in love."

"Yeah, that's a long story for another time." Evie smirked. "Any word from Jay? Do you guys still see each other?"

Carlos nodded, "We do. Not everyday but we get together most Saturdays."

Evie felt a small pang of sadness knowing that Carlos and Jay has stayed friends while her and Mal had fallen apart. "That's really great. The four of us should have dinner or something. I'm sure Mal misses you guys too."

"I'd really like that." Carlos smiled.

"I should get going," Evie picked up the carrier, "Mal should be home by now."

Carlos stopped and looked at her, "you and Mal live together? Did you two finally get together?"

Evie just grinned in response.

"It's about time!"

Evie turned brick red at his words, "shut up! I have to get home. I'll text you with plans, okay?" Evie laughed as she walked out of the room and headed home.

—-

"Hey, M," Evie walked into the apartment. "Kitty is doing excellent!"

"Great," Mal said sarcastically.

"Oh hush. You love him." Evie walked over to Mal and wrapped her arms around her. "Hi," she leaned down and kissed Mal for a moment before pulled away. "Where's Macie?"

"Napping," Mal answered as Evie grabbed a water from the fridge.

"Oh, that's good." Evie told her. "Can we talk for a minute then? About us?"

Mal scrunched up her face in confusion, "of course. Is everything okay?"

Evie led Mal over to the couch. "Um...I wanted to talk about us...you know...being physical and stuff," Evie blushed but knew they needed to have this conversation.

"Oh, right," Mal replied. She knew they needed to talk about it but she was hoping it would be a distant conversation.

"I love kissing you, M. A lot. It's all I've wanted since I was 15." Evie grabbed Mal's hand, rubbing circles with her thumb, "I'm scared to go further. I'm scared to cross that line of friendship vs being a couple."

Mal listened, feeling the same but wanting to give Evie the chance to speak.

"I want to, so badly. I want to be with you. I want to experience those things with you. Things I've never experienced. Especially sober. And it terrifies me. I'm so torn between wanting to kiss you forever and being so afraid to be touched." Evie paused for a moment to look into the bright green eyes she loved, "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. Does that make any sense?"

"I want to be with you, Evie. It's been so long since I've had sex and trust me, I want to be with you." Mal started, she wasn't the best at these conversations and she desperately didn't want to push her too far. "I will not do anything you're not ready for, E. Ever. But just know that when you're ready, I'm ready. We are past the friend zone now. My feelings for you are past that. They have been for years."

Evie blushed. She never really felt wanted. To hear the woman she had wanted to be with for years, actually wanting her was incredible. "I've never been with a girl."

"That's okay, Evie." Mal tried to reassure her.

Evie chewed on her lip. Her therapist had told her she needed to talk about her feelings more but it was hard.

"Macie will be asleep for the next couple hours."

"Is that so?" Evie asked, smiling at the mischievous grin that had appeared on Mal's face.

"It is. So you know, we could always practice crossing that line." Mal gently pushed Evie back until she was laying down on the couch, and hovered over her.

Evie nodded slowly, answering the question her girlfriend didn't ask.

Mal lowered herself the rest of the way down. Evie was surprised at how light she was. It was a nice feeling. Evie ran her fingers up and down Mal's sides as Mal brought their lips together. The girls moved in unison, hands wandering up and down, teeth and tongues dueling for dominance. Mal shifted her focus to Evie's neck, nipping sucking as she moved along, causing Evie to pant and moan.

Mal sat up for a moment, ignoring Evie's whimper. She reached down and grabbed at the hem of Evie's shirt and began lifting it up. She watched Evie's eyes for any sign of disapproval but none came. Once the shirt was over the mess of blue hair, Mal palmed Evie's breast's in her hand, squeezing and kneading and teasing. She grinned when Evie started squirming beneath her, clearly trying to get some sort of friction.

Evie squirmed and squirmed but no luck. Mal's hands were driving her crazy. She reached up and grabbed the back of Mal's neck, forcing her back down so their lips could meet again. The sensations rushing through Evie's body were completely new and she never wanted them to stop. Mal's hands continued to roam along her body, every touch setting her skin on fire. Evie was completely lost in her.

Mal reached down and gently ran her fingers under the waistband of Evie jeans. She felt the girl beneath her tense at the touch so she stopped. She looked up at the chocolate eyes and saw fear where pleasure was moments before. Mal readjusted herself so they were laying side by side and pulled Evie in close, seconds before the taller girl broke down. "You're okay, E."

Evie nodded and sobs ripped through her. She felt so broken. Enjoyment ruined by flashbacks. She knew it was Mal on top of her but as soon as she touched her too far down, all she could see was that night. Evie gripped onto Mal's shirt, trying to keep herself grounded as she cried.

"I'm sorry, baby," Mal whispered. Evie felt so guilty. Mal hadn't done anything wrong. She was just broken. Completely broken.

"I want you, Mal." Evie told her.

"I know, E. It's okay." Mal reassured her. "I'm not going anywhere."


	17. Chapter 17

"Before I bring Mal in, is there anything you don't want me discussing with her?" Dr. Darling asked.

Evie shook her head. Realistically, there were many things she had said in therapy that she wouldn't want Mal knowing about but she also knew that if she wanted to get better, communication was important.

"Okay, I'll just go get her." The therapist walked over to door and opened it, gesturing for Mal to come in.

The blonde walked in and sat down next to Evie, taking her hand as a sign of support.

Evie smiled weakly, squeezing Mal's hand.

"So as you know, I've been seeing Evie once a week for the last 6 weeks or so." Dr. Darling started. "We've talked a lot about the rape as well as your relationship. Is there anything you would like to add or talk about before we get into why I brought you in?"

Mal just shook her head. If Evie had wanted it discussed, she would've already.

"Okay," the therapist smiled. "Well I brought you in so that you and Evie could discuss some sexual things in a safe space. She tells me you guys are having some trouble connecting in that area."

Mal looked over at Evie, who was busy looking at a torn stitch on her glove, "Okay," Mal said slowly.

"Is that something you feel as well?"

Mal paused for a moment and nodded, "but I mean to be fair, we haven't been together that long. We are still finding our footing as a couple." She didn't know why she was trying to defend anything to the therapist who knew about their backgrounds.

"Why don't you tell me what sexuality is like on the isle. I've been told is far more progressive than Auradon." Dr. Darling places the tip of her pen on the paper, ready to write.

"Well yeah. There aren't any rules or repercussions on the Isle. No consequences to our actions. No parents giving a damn if we fuck up. So sex isn't something sacred or whatever like it is here."

"And you've had sex before? I mean while on the isle?" The therapist was writing furiously as Mal talked, pausing only for a moment to pose the question.

Mal nodded, "Yeah. I did. Mostly with one person but a few others here and there."

"How old were you?"

"13 my first time, I think." Mal looked over at Evie. The blue haired girl was watching her as she spoke now but not saying anything.

"You said it was mostly with one person. Who was that?"

"Her name was Uma. What does this have to do with me and Evie?" Mal asked sharply. Her and Uma were friends but she didn't have any desire to think about the past with her.

"Evie, do you feel like Mal's experience makes you inadequate?" The doctor looked over at the taller girl.

Evie nodded.

"E, no. Never." Mal protested but the doctor stopped her.

"So I understand you also have a history with drugs is that correct?"

Mal just nodded. She could feel herself fuming.

"Is it safe to say that you had a lot of sex while high like Evie did?"

Mal nodded again, "yeah my daughter is the result of it."

"Have you had sex sober? I mean since you got clean?"

Mal chewed her lip a little before shaking her head. She hadn't had sex with anyone since Macie's dad. She had been too busy.

"Is there anything about sleeping with Evie that makes you nervous or insecure?"

"Of course there is. With everything in her past and the fact that we were friends for so long, it makes everything more complicated. I want it though." Mal knew what she said sounded lame but she didn't know what else to say. There was a lot of pressure on their first time together.

"I'm scared," Evie squeaked out, speaking for the first time. "What if I can't do it? What if I can't go through with it? What if us being friends messes it all up? What if I suck because I've never been with a girl?" Evie finished her ramble and looked over into Mal's green eyes.

"You're putting too much pressure on it, E. Sex is supposed to be fun." Mal told her, squeezing her hand.

"Okay how about this..why don't you girls get completely undressed, get under the covers and spend some time kissing and exploring. Not having sex but just getting comfortable with each other. It might be enough to get you guys over the past friendship hump as well as help Evie with some of her fears of sex in general."

The girls nodded at the them . "Excellent. That's all the time we have for today. Evie, I will see you next week."

—

Mal and Evie walked hand and hand down the street through the town closest to Belle and Beast's castle.

"Are you mad at me for talking to my therapist about us?" Evie was worried that Mal was angry. She knew perfectly well that Mal would rather keep things private.

"I'm not mad, E," Mal started, "it's just weird to discuss our non existent sex life with someone I don't know. It's not bad, I just...I would rather just talk to you I guess."

"I'm sorry," Evie told her. She knew she hadn't really done anything wrong but it was her nature to apologize. Years of emotional abuse from the Evil Queen did that to her.

Mal squeezes her hand, "it's not a problem, babe. I swear." She smiled and leaned over to kiss the girl quickly on the cheek. "Now, can we please talk about something other than sex. I feel like we've put enough pressure on ourselves."

Evie smiled. "You're probably right."

"I always am."

Evie rolled her eyes, "so I saw Carlos the other day. I haven't had a chance to tell you."

"Where?" Mal asked.

"He was interning at the vet I took Meeko too. He actually did his exam." Evie stopped at a window and looked in at the outfit on the mannequin. She automatically examined the design, making mental notes.

"Wow. I haven't seen him in..." Mal trailed off, trying to remember, "...4 years I guess. I ran into him once when I was out one night. I think. I don't fully remember it but I vaguely remember Carlos and Jay being there. So how is he?"

"He seems good. He still has a little bit of schooling left and then he will be a vet I guess." Evie started walking again, heading towards the ice cream stand.

"Good for him." Mal stopped and looked up at the menu. "Can I get mint chocolate chip?"

"Cookies and cream for me, please," Evie ordered as well. Mal handed over the money and the girls moved aside to wait for their cones.

"Are him and Jay still close?" Mal asked.

Evie glanced over at a group of kids playing in the fountain, smiling at just how carefree they were. "He said they see each other almost every Saturday. Probably playing Tourney or something."

Mal laughed, "Yeah they were so obsessed with that game."

The girls took their cones as they were offered them before resuming their walk.

"I told him that I would text him and we could all have dinner or something." Evie said, licking her cone. "This is really good."

"Mmm, mine too," Mal smiled, licking her own. "I can't believe we didn't get to grow up with this."

"Yeah we didn't get to grow up with a lot of things." Evie said, sadness in her voice.

"Ooo like chocolate. Or WiFi. Oh and you can't forget Twizzlers. I love those."

"Don't forget strawberries," Evie teased.

"Shut up," Mal laughed. "I regret ever telling you that information."

Evie shifted and bumped her girlfriend with her hip, laughing at her. "Hey it might come in handy at some point."

"Okay can we not discuss the things that turn me on. At least not until we know what turns you on. Okay?" Mal reasoned.

Evie sighed, "Yeah yeah yeah."

"Any ideas on what that might be?" Mal asked, pushing a little.

"Not really. Umm...I've never really thought about it much. You do, I guess. But no food that I know of." Evie shrugged, licking more of her cone. "Besides, we aren't talking about sex, M."

Mal scrunched up her nose, "right." Mal looked at her watch, "we have to go get that little munchkin I claim. Her school closes soon."

"Let's go," Evie smiled as they reached Mal's car.

They had just opened their doors when a voice rang out. "Well look who it is."

Evie spun around, recognizing the voice at once. Her heart sank. "Hi Uma."

"As much as we would love to stay, we have to go get Macie." Mal climbed into the SUV. She had no desire for this conversation. She knew Evie was sensitive when it came to her former lover.

"Dude, chill. I was just saying hi." Uma rolled her eyes. "It's nice to see you two together again. Auradon has been quiet the last few years."

Evie just glared at her. Uma brought out her bad side. She had spent so much energy trying to get everyone to get along when they were younger. But Mal was hers now and she would fight for her.

"How's Harry?" Mal asked with a smirk.

"Shut up, Mal." Uma sniped back.

"Well since we were commenting on relationships, I figured why not bring up yours," Mal shrugged.

"Relationship?" Uma raised her eyebrow. "Are you two actually finally together?"

"Yes, so you can leave now." Evie fought back. She crossed her arms over her chest and started to pout.

"Well it's about damn time." Uma smiled. "For real, that's awesome."

Evie dropped her arms, "really? You're not jealous or going to claim her back?"

Uma laughed. "Seriously? You don't actually think I have feelings for her do you? Please."

"Standing right here, thank you," Mal said, the words stinging a lot. Not that she wanted Uma but it would've felt nice to be wanted a little.

"I've been over you for years, girl." Uma smirked. "I'm happy for you guys." She reaches out her fist and bumped Mal's.

"Thanks?" Mal said as she let her hand drop.

Evie just stood their, not sure what to think.

Uma waved as she walked off, "bye."

"What just happened?" Evie asked.

"I think the sea witch gave us her blessing? Maybe?" Mal looked over at Evie, completely confused before putting the car into drive.

—

"So tell me something no one knows about you," Evie said, laying on the couch. Macie was asleep next to her and Mal was on the other end.

"I can wiggle my eyebrows," Mal shrugged.

"Please, I've known that since like 2 minutes after I met you." Evie rolled her eyes.

"Didn't I lock you in a closet 2 minutes after you met me?" Mal laughed.

"I think it was like 5 minutes," Evie giggled. "That was awful. I could've died."

Mal's face went completely serious, "well that was the plan. You just figured out how to escape. Damn Carlos."

"Your life would've sucked if I had died." Evie told her matter of factly.

"That's true." Mal smiled.

"You still haven't answered my question." Evie told her.

"Ummm, I don't know E. I used to sneak out at night and go sit under the stars, making up stories about them." Mal answered.

"Really?" Evie asked, cocking her head to the side.

Mal nodded, "Yeah, I would wait until you were completely passed out and then I would go out for a couple hours."

"I had no idea."

"That's because you sleep like the dead," Mal scrunched up her nose.

"I do not!" Evie protested.

"Tell me something about you." Mal countered.

"A couple years ago, I found out I was pregnant." Evie told her

Mal perked up a bit at the confession. "Really? What happened?"

"My dealer at the time pushed me down the stairs. I broke my wrist in 3 places. And lost the baby." Evie smiled weakly. It wasn't something she thought about much but she couldn't help wonder.

"I'm sorry, E. That's awful." Mal leaned up a little and took her hand.

"It's in the past." Evie shrugged and changed the subject. "So what happened with you and Ben? You never actually told me."

Mal laughed, "Oh right. Him. Well we were engaged as you know. Belle had the entire wedding planned out. Everyone was preparing for me to be queen. After you walked away, I spiraled out of control. Not with drugs, not yet but with my emotions and anger. I smashed that stupid statue Beast had outside the school. I didn't do any particularly heinous but every single conversation Ben and I had for months ended in screaming. At some point along the way, he realized that the reason I was so emotional was my feelings for you. So he walked away."

"I'm so sorry, M. I never meant to destroy your life." Evie hated how much pain she had caused.

"Seriously it was for the best. We did not belong together. Even before we got engaged, we fought a lot. It was just more private fighting." Mal shifted, careful not to wake up the sleeping kid.

" I get that." Evie replied. "No point in being together if you're miserable."

Mal nodded. "I am sad I didn't get to be queen though. That could've been fun."

"Well I'm a princess so if you marry me, one day you can be queen." Evie reminded her, laughing.

"Oh you have no royal status here," Mal imitated Audrey their first day of school.

"Man you should've gotten rid of her right then. It would've saved us a lot of trouble."

Mal nodded, "definitely."

Evie yawned, "We should probably get to bed. You have work in the morning and I have NA."

Mal stood up and stretched then picked up Macie. "I'll meet you in there." She leaned over and gave Evie a quick kiss before disappearing down the hall.


	18. Chapter 18

"Are you ready for this?" Mal asked, watching Evie's features carefully.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice shaking. She continued to look down at the carpet.

"Hey, E," Mal said gently, pulling Evie's head up with her fingers. "Look at me."

Evie adjusted her eyes so brown met green.

"It's just me. Just you and me. The doors are locked, Macie is with Chloe. You are safe." Mal tried to reassure her. "No one will walk in. No one will see you but me okay?"

Evie nodded slowly, trying to remain calm.

"Just you and me," Mal repeated.

"Okay," Evie said, her voice small.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to." Mal told her. "I promise."

"I want to," Evie reassured her.

"Okay then," Mal told her. She reached down and grabbed the hem of her own shirt and pulled it over her head. She stopped and waited for Evie to do the same. She watched as shaky hands pulled her own shirt off. Mal looked down at the scars covering the other woman's stomach. She reached out and gently traced one.

"Mal..." Evie said quietly, "don't."

Mal immediately pulled her fingers away. "It's okay. You don't have to be ashamed of them."

"Yes I do. I did them to myself." Evie reminded her.

"I know you did. But you still shouldn't be ashamed." Mal told her. The blonde undid the buttons on her jeans and shimmies out of them, letting them pool to the floor at her feet.

Evie chewed her lip, slowly unbuttoning her own pair. She stopped for a moment and looked over at Mal, finding comfort in her green eyes. She pulled them down and stood perfectly still, nerves eating her up.

"You okay?" Mal asked, she didn't dare touch the girl again. Not yet anyway. "No sex okay? I'm not going to touch you. You're safe."

"I'm okay," Evie told her, her voice was still shaking. Being exposed was hard for her.

Mal nodded and undid the clasp on her bra, letting it join the discarded clothes on the floor. She heard Evie's breath hitch but didn't acknowledge it.

Evie stared for a bit. Mal was beautiful. It took her breath away.

"E," Mal said quietly, shaking Evie from her daydream.

"Sorry," Evie said quickly, "it's just...wow."

Mal laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Your turn."

Evie nodded and undid the clasp of her own bra, letting it fall to the floor as well.

Mal grinned but tried so hard to not stare. "Alright, ready for the last bit?"

Evie's face dropped to one of complete fear but she nodded anyway.

"Are you sure? I promise I'm not going to touch you okay? This is just for you to get comfortable."

Evie nodded again. She was ready, just scared.

Mal wiggled out of the underwear she was wearing until she was completely naked. She felt exposed but not in a bad way.

Evie stood with her mouth open, amazed by what she was looking at. Mal was perfect. Completely.

"Okay, babe, your turn. Ready?" Mal asked.

Evie gripped onto the band of her underwear and slowly slid them off.

"You're beautiful." Mal told her. She had seen Evie naked before but this was a different experience. She was actually looking now.

"I'm not," Evie told her.

"You are, E. You're beautiful."

Evie dropped her head, not making eye contact. She wrapped her hands around her body.

"Can I kiss you?" Mal asked.

Evie nodded and Mal walked over to her, locking their lips before Evie could protest. The kiss was sweet, no hunger, no need for dominance. Just reassurance. They pulled apart and Mal opened her eyes to look at Evie. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Evie told her, her arms still wrapped around herself.

"Do you want to get under the covers? We can maybe cuddle, watch a movie?" Mal suggested.

Evie nodded and followed Mal to the bed. The girls slipped under the blankets, still naked and let their bodies intertwine. Mal could feel her arousal but refused to acknowledge it until Evie was ready. She kissed the top of Evie's head and flipped on the tv.

—-

"Hello?" Evie said, answering her phone. "Oh, hi mom." Her voice dropped.

Mal's eyes got wide. "What?" She mouthed.

Evie waved her off and walked into the other room.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Evie told her.

"I want to have dinner with you."

"Why?" Evie asked instinctively. She hadn't seen her mom since she stole her money a few years previous.

"I heard you are in a relationship. I want to meet this man," the Evil Queen said.

"Ummm..." Evie stuttered, trying to figure out a quick enough lie.

"So when would be a good time for me to meet this prince of yours?"

"Well, mom, I don't know if we can figure out a time. I'm really busy. I've been trying to get clean and it's really hard." Evie managed to ramble out. Her being a drug addict would go over easier than her being a lesbian.

"Yes, we need to talk about that as well. I know you stole money from me."

"I'm sorry," Evie said quietly. "I'll pay you back."

"Yes you will," the Evil Queen replied. "So when is good for dinner?"

Evie sighed. Loudly. She was resisting the urge to bang her head against the wall. She began to wonder if she could also turn her mom into an animal.

"Evie? I'm waiting."

"Tomorrow?" Evie asked figuring it was better to get it over with.

"Tomorrow is perfect. Ursula's fish and chip shop?"

Ew. "Yeah, that will be fine. We will be there. 7pm." Evie hated that stupid fish place.

"Bye." The Evie Queen hung up the phone with no other words.

Evie stood there for a moment, staring at her phone, wondering what the hell she had just gotten her and Mal into.

"E?" Mal asked, slowly coming into the room. "You okay?"

"She wants to have dinner," Evie told her.

"That's not so bad."

"She wants to meet the prince I'm dating," Evie finished.

Mal's mouth dropped open. Apparently she was now roped into dinner with a crazy person. "Did you tell her the truth?"

Evie shook her head, "I couldn't think of a lie fast enough. I just didn't say anything."

Mal leaned against the wall and put her fingers on her temples, rubbing slow circles. "When?"

"Tomorrow night. At Uma's." Evie said.

"God, not the fish and chip shop. That place stinks." Mal sunk to the floor. Evie followed suit.

"Yeah the Evil Queen loves that place for some reason." Evie told her.

"I remember." Mal replied.

"Ugh!" Evie threw her hands up in exacerbation.

"Fuck!" Mal said at the same time.

This was gonna suck.

—

Evie and Mal walked hand in hand down the streets of the Isle. They weren't speaking much, both too nervous for words. Far too quickly, they were standing outside of Ursula's.

"Are you ready?" Mal asked.

"Not even a little."

"Let's go," Mal squeezed her hand before letting go of it.

Evie took a breath and opened the door. She glanced around and saw her mom sitting down at the table. She took one more breath and walked over. "Hi, mom."

"Evie!" The Evie Queen stood up and pulled Evie into a bone crushing hug.

"Hi," Evie pulled herself out of the hug.

"Where is your prince?" The Queen asked, looking around.

"Um...well don't freak out but," Evie gestured over to where Mal was standing, "it's more like a princess."

The Evie Queen looked over at Mal before collapsing back into her chair.

"Mom!" Evie shook the woman as Mal rushed over. "Mom!"

The Evie Queen's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. "Mal? Mal is your prince? She's horrible!"

"So great to see you too," Mal said in a monotone voice. "I can hear you by the way. In case you're wondering." Mal rolled her eyes.

"This isn't a prince, Evie. You have been taught to be a princess. To do they, you need a prince."

"Mom..." Evie started.

"You look horrible by the way. I taught you better than that." The Evil Queen told Evie, causing Mal to tense up and clench her fists.

"Don't," Evie whispered to her.

"Oh and your hair! It looks like a bird's nest. Do you own a comb?"

"Watch it," Mal growled.

"M, please," Evie begged. The last thing she needed was her girlfriend beating up her mom. "I'm an adult. I don't need you telling me how I should look."

"I just want you to marry a prince and take your rightful place as a queen."

"I don't want to be a queen. I want to be with Mal!" Evie snapped, causing the other patrons to turn and look at her. "Sorry."

"Mal is a girl! And quite frankly beneath you," the Evil Queen told her.

"Don't." Evie warned.

"I'm just saying. She is a dragon, that's not exactly high up on the list," the Queen told her.

"I said don't!" Evie warned again. She looked over at Mal and saw the bright green eyes glowing. "Woah, woah, no no, Mal." Evie turned and grabbed both of Mal's hands, looking her straight in the eyes. "Calm down, M. Calm down."

Mal could feel her anger. She was trying so hard to calm down but she couldn't. This crazy Queen was talking shit about her and demeaning Evie. She wasn't about to let that go.

"This is what I'm talking about," the Queen rolled her eyes. "Half breed."

Evie turned around in a flash, getting straight up into her moms face. "Watch yourself before I let her light your ass on fire. Back. Off."

Mal had never seen Evie this angry. It was an interesting thing to experience.

"Evie," The Evil Queen said, shock filling her features.

"Listen carefully," Evie told her, moving back to Mal, taking her hand and rubbing circles with her thumb. "You do not under any circumstances EVER talk to me about my relationship again. If you try, I will have Mal turn you into a lizard and put you in with Maleficient. Do you understand?"

The Evie Queen nodded slowly, clearly trying to decide whether she actually thought Mal could turn her into anything.

"Goodbye." Evie told her, taking Mal's hand and walking out of the restaurant. Once outside, Evie leaned in and kissed Mal, deep enough to distract the girl and by the time they pulled apart, her eyes were back to normal. "You okay?"

Mal nodded, "Yeah. Thank you."

"Well, well well," a voice from behind them sounded.

"Oh fucking hell." Mal spun around and came face to face with Harry. "I hate this island."

"What are you 2 doing so far from home?" He asked.

"Seeing my lovely mother," Evie sighed. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say hi to my 2 old friends," Harry told her, turning his hook in his hands.

"Don't you need Uma's permission to do that?" Mal smirked.

"Don't mention her." Harry snapped, bringing his hook to Mal's throat.

"Mal!" Evie said.

"Oh you're so scary," Mal laughed, taking a step back. "Goodbye, Harry."

"Goodbye, lassies," Harry smirked but let them leave.

"Can we please go home now!" Evie begged.

"Happily," Mal said, taking Evie's hand and leading her down the street.

—-

Evie sat in the shower, letting the water pour down over her back. She wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them close as tears fell down her cheeks. The run in with her mom had really messed with her brain. She hated her mother so much for making her believe she didn't matter.

Evie picked up the razor and spun it around in her hands. She was debating whether it was worth it. She took the blade and pressed down on her skin.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. "Baby?" Mal pushed the door open a bit and glanced inside, not wanting to make Evie uncomfortable. She saw the bright blue hair coming from the lower part of the shower and realized her girlfriend was sitting down. She walked over to her and saw the blade against her skin. "Baby, no."

Evie looked up at her and immediately dropped the razor. "Sorry."

Mal reached in, turned off the shower and handed Evie a towel so she could cover herself.

"Don't listen to her, E," Mal said, sitting on the ground across from the shower.

"All she wanted was for me to be beautiful and marry a prince." Evie told her, wrapping the towel around her.

"She's a horrible person and you need to not listen to anything she says." Mal tried again.

"I'm such a disappointment."

"You're not. Evie, you're perfect and so beautiful. You don't see if but you're so pretty. And you're so smart. You've always been. You don't need your lunatic mother telling you otherwise okay?" Mal told her.

Evie nodded. "Thanks."

"E, are you happy with me?" Mal asked.

"Very," Evie replied quickly.

"That's all that matters. Your mother not accepting you dating a girl doesn't affect our relationship, okay?" Mal stood up and went to sit next to Evie in the shower.

Mal grabbed Evie's arm and look at the red marks, happy she didn't draw blood. Evie tried to pull away but Mal brought the arm to her lips and kissed the red marks. "This can't be your answer, okay?"

Evie nodded, finally managing to take her arm back. "I'm sorry,"

"You're so much better than you think you are okay?" Mal told her. "Come on, I made us dinner since we didn't get to eat at Ursula's." Mal stood up and offered her hand to Evie.

Evie took it and let the blonde help her up. "Let me get dressed and I'll be right there."

Mal nodded and walked out of the room. Evie stood in front of the mirror and let the towel drop, looking at all her past scars. So many of them were from the things her mom told her as she was growing up. She was never good enough. Never pretty enough. Never smart enough. Never anything.

Mal thought she was though. Evie tried to focus on that and push the thoughts from her mom away. It was so hard though. The Evil Queen's voice was louder than Mal's.

Evie dried off quickly and threw on a pair of pajamas. She didn't even know if she was hungry but Mal's company could only help right now.

"Evie?" Mal yelled from the kitchen.

"Coming," she responded before walking out of the bedroom.


	19. Chapter 19

Mal looked the door of the on call room behind her and went and laid down. She was exhausted. Mentally and physically drained. Between a toddler, Evie and being a nurse, she didn't feel like she had anything left to give.

Taking care of people 24 hours a day had taken its toll on her. It seemed like all she did now was keep Macie and Evie alive. That was her goal. She loved them both of course but sometimes it wasn't easy on her own sobriety to keep her girlfriend clean. More than once she had debating texting Doug for drugs. Just one or two hits to keep her going and keep her sane.

She didn't though. Of course she didn't. She couldn't risk Macie's life that way. Mal wished she could though. She wished she could say fuck it and just go down that rabbit hole. It would make her feel better.

Instead she just kept going. She went to work, helped people, went home, made sure Macie and Evie were fed, kept Evie away from drugs, played with Macie, bathed Macie, put Macie to bed, spent time with Evie making sure she knew she was amazing, kept Evie from cutting or spiraling out of control from the rape, go to bed, wake up and do it all again.

In all reality, she knew Evie was doing fairly well. She was staying clean and attending therapy and NA. Mal was aware she didn't have to take care of Evie but she liked to. It made her feel useful. It also helped take away the guilt she felt for leaving her all those years ago.

Mal's phone beeped and she sighed, ignoring it for a moment but knowing she couldn't forever.

"Hey, babe. I just wanted to say hi. I hope you're having a good day." -E

Mal smiled. She was stressed and exhausted but Evie made her so happy. She was hot too so that always helped.

Mal tapped a quick reply before putting her phone back in the pocket of her scrubs. She really didn't want to go back to work it she didn't have a choice. She stood up and stretched all her muscles out before heading out the door.

—-

"Are you ready?" Mal asked Evie.

Evie nodded, her nerves building but she was trying so hard to stay calm.

Mal quickly shed her clothes so she was naked in front of her girlfriend again.

Evie stood nervously, arms crossed across her chest.

"Can I help?" Mal asked carefully, trying to help Evie with her fears.

Evie stood for a moment, not saying anything then she slowly nodded. She really didn't know how long until she freaked out but she really wanted to get past her fear.

Mal was surprised with the response but moved forward a little. She looked into the scared brown eyes and smiled. She gently reached down and grabbed the bottom of Evie's shirt and began lifting it over her head. Evie relaxed her arms so the shirt would move.

"You look beautiful, E," Mal told her, leaning down and kissing her bare shoulder.

"Mal," Evie said, her voice almost a whisper.

"I'm sorry," Mal said. She felt bad. All she wanted was Evie to be comfortable but it didn't mean she didn't want her girlfriend.

"Don't be, Mal," Evie said, looking Mal right in the eyes. "I liked it."

Mal was taken back by the words. "Really?" Evie nodded. "I can keep going..." Mal's voice trailed off. Evie nodded again.

Mal moved even closer to Evie. She leaned up and kissed the woman before her. Evie felt herself melt into the kiss. She couldn't understand how she was so terrified yet so in love all at once. Mal wrapped her arms around Evie's neck and pulled her in closer, wanting to be as close as she could.

It was Evie who deepened the kiss, taking them both by surprise as her tongue skimmed Mal's bottom lip. The blonde immediately allowed access and they spent a while exploring each other. Mal ran her hands up and down Evie's arms, gripping the flesh. She reached behind Evie and unclasped her bra, pausing the kissing for a moment to look into the brown eyes, making sure it was okay. Evie bit her lip and nodded. Mal let go of the clasp and the bra fell to the floor.

Mal was once again in awe, as she always was whenever her girlfriend was topless. Mal felt slightly less exposed now that Evie was half undressed. Being naked while the other person is clothed is always a little weird. Evie leaned down and captured Mal's lips again, pulling her out of the daydream she was lost in. Mal reached up and placed on hands on the breasts in front of her, kneading gently eliciting moans from the blue haired woman. Evie threw her head back at the feeling and Mal took the opportunity to attach her lips to the exposed neck. She sucked gently and Evie moaned at the feeling. She had never experienced this before and the sensations were driving her insane. She both wanted more and was scared of more at the same time.

Mal could feel her arousal building and knew they needed to stop. She knew Evie wasn't ready for this and she respected that. It felt so good though. She wanted to kiss every inch of her girlfriend's body. Mal pulled away and looked into Evie's eyes, both girl's panting from arousal.

"We need to stop, E," Mal said, hating every word as it fell from her lips.

Evie's brain was so fuzzy, she couldn't focus, "Why?"

Mal was surprised by the question. Was Evie really able to enjoy herself without panicking? "You're not ready for this, baby."

Evie whimpered and stuck out her lip in a pout. She knew Mal was right but she was enjoying it so much.

"Put that pout away. How about we get you out of the rest of your clothes and we can cuddle in bed. I'm actually really tired and could use the rest."

Evie nodded in agreement. Now that her hormones had calmed down, she could feel her terror returning to her and knew that Mal did the right thing stopping them before she panicked. She quickly got out of her pants and underwear, less nervous than the first time they did it and followed Mal into the bed.

Mal wrapped her tiny body around Evie's and snuggled in close. She struggled to admit it but she needed comfort too sometimes. She listened to Evie's heartbeat and could feel her own anxiety and stress melting away.

Evie pulled Mal's warm body in closer, enjoying the heat the dragon always put off. She wondered if she would ever be able to have sex like a normal person. It was a thought that haunted her. She had the woman of her dreams but she couldn't be intimate with her. If she couldn't do that, they were basically still just friends. Evie didn't want that. She wanted everything with Mal.

Mal twitched a little and Evie glanced down to check on her and saw that she was already passed out. Evie smiled a little, before letting herself drift off too.

-—-/

Evie woke up first the next morning and looked over at the blonde laying next to her. Mal looked so peaceful. Evie knew the other girl was so tired. She was constantly taking care of people and it was clearly wearing her down.

Evie snuck out of the bed, tiptoed to the bathroom and got herself ready for the day. Once she was done, she quietly made her way out of the bedroom and into Macie's. The toddler was laying in bed, eyes open just staring off into space.

"Hi, baby," Evie said to her, her voice quiet.

"Blue," Macie replied, the sleepiness filling her voice.

"You wanna come play with me?" Evie asked. There was a playground outside in the complex and she knew Mal could use the extra rest.

Macie immediately got up and starting running around in excitement.

"We gotta get you dressed first." Evie dug around in the drawers for a few moments before producing an acceptable outfit. Macie let her change her diaper and get her dressed without much resistance. Evie was grateful for this.

Once ready, Evie took Macie into the kitchen, put some cereal in a bag and scribbled a note to Mal. She was really hoping that since they were just outside that Mal wouldn't freak out in her.

"Let's go!" Evie smiled at Macie who clapped her hands. She let the toddler lead them, knowing that Macie knew the way to that playground better than most.

Once there, Evie helped Macie climb up the platforms and watched her slide down the slide. She helped her pretend to go across the monkey bars and pushed her on the swing. Evie even made sure she ate some of the cereal she brought. They were so wrapped up in having fun that Evie didn't notice Mal storming up to them.

"What are you doing?" Mal demanded.

"Mama!" Macie cheered, running over to her mom and wrapping herself around her legs.

"We are just playing, M." Evie shrugged.

"You're not supposed to be alone with her, Evie." Mal snapped.

"Seriously? She's fine and you know it. I just wanted you to get some extra sleep. I didn't even leave the property." Evie told her. She was growing increasingly frustrated with the conversation

"She's my kid. Not yours. What I say goes and I say you can't be alone with her." Mal snapped again.

"What do you think I'm going to teach her to snort drugs? Pretty sure she can learn that from you because news flash, Mal, I'm not the only drug addict here." Evie yelled. She was pissed.

"Keep your voice down." Mal demanded. "I get to make the decisions when it comes to her. And my decision is that until I'm sure you're clean, Macie isn't alone with you."

"I gotta go. Have a good day with your kid." Evie told her. She was completely hurt and sick of Mal not trusting her. How could they be together if there wasn't any trust?

At least she had a cute little sister she could visit. Evie turned up the street and headed toward the bus stop.

Once there, she sat down to wait, her mind going over and over their little argument. It's not that she didn't get where Mal was coming from. Evie knew she was fucked up but that didn't mean she would do anything to hurt Macie.

Finally the bus came and she got on. With a slight jerk the bus started moving and she headed toward Dizzy.


	20. Chapter 20

"You two need to sit down and talk about this. There is clearly something she isn't saying." Dizzy poured Evie a cup of coffee before sitting down with her own. "You guys need to start communicating or else you won't last."

"You're right. It's like she thinks I will break or something. Not everything is going to send me spiraling to drugs." Evie sighed.

"She just loves you and worries about you."

"I know. It's just frustrating," Evie admitted. "I'm not a kid."

Dizzy took a long drink before speaking again. "She watched you almost die, Evie. She watched the doctors fight to keep you alive. It's going to be a long time before she stops being so protective of you."

Evie sighed again. She knew the younger girl was right. "Enough about me, how is the baby?"

"Good. We should find out the sex Friday." Dizzy put her hand on her stomach, which was showing the smallest bump.

"Really? Oh I'm so excited!" Evie exclaimed. She didn't even try to control her energy level. "So where is Celia today?"

Dizzy looked up at the clock on the wall. "She should be at the arcade by now. They are doing some event with Auradon Prep today."

"School feels like another lifetime ago." Evie admitted, at the mention of her old school.

"For you, it was. You're not the same person from then. You've changed." Dizzy told her, "and so has Mal. Talk to her. You love her. You always have. And she loves you."

"She might," Evie said. She had no idea if Mal loved her or not.

"Do you remember when you came back to the Isle for the first time and you guys needed to make smoke bombs?"

Evie nodded. Ben had gotten his ass captured and they had to save him.

"Mal sat and ran her fingers through your hair, while you sat and looked at your old sketchbook. Do you remember that?" Dizzy asked.

Evie smiled. "I do remember that actually. She ran away to the Isle and it killed me to see her in so much pain."

"She was so absent minded about the way she touched you. That's when I knew that you guys would end up together. That's when I knew she loved you." Dizzy smiled.

"How did you know that? All she was doing was playing with my hair."

Dizzy laughed, "It was the way she was playing with it. Like it was natural. Like you were already hers. It's almost like she didn't realize what she was doing, she just wanted to touch you."

Evie smiled. Everyone in the world knew about them before they did. "And when did you know about my feelings?"

"I've known about yours much longer. About 6 months before you guys left for Auradon, you had taken me for the day to get me away from Granny. You had decided I needed a break and took me to that hideout thing you guys had made, remember?

Evie nodded.

"Mal was there. And her mom had been mean to her and Mal was in an awful mood. She yelled at you for bringing me there. She screamed all these cruel and hateful things to me."

"Oh, I had forgotten about that. God Maleficent was so horrible to her." Evie remembered the almost abusive way Mal's mom treated her.

"Instead of getting angry back like most people on the Isle do, you walk right up to her and pulled her into a hug. You whispered something to her, I don't know what and she immediately relaxed. It was like you had the magic touch. When you pulled away, I saw the look on your face. You would've done anything for her to see her smile. That's when I knew.

"Thanks, Dizzy," Evie pulled the smaller girl into a hug. "I needed that."

"I know," Dizzy smiled.

—-

Mal paced back and forth inside her apartment. Evie hadn't been home since earlier that morning and she hadn't heard from her either. She picked up her phone and called her girlfriend once again.

"Hey E, it's me. Can you please call me back when you get this." Mal left yet another voicemail. Where was she?

Mal looked down at Macie who was pulling a wooden train across a wooden set of tracks, talking to herself. "Are you hungry?"

Macie shook her head, not looking up from the train for a second.

Mal sighed and started pacing again.

The sound of the key in the door caught her attention and she immediately ran over, throwing her arms around Evie as soon as her bright blue hair appeared. "Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"Dizzy's. Are you okay?" Evie asked, concerned.

"I called you 100 times." Mal lightly hit Evie on the arm. "Why didn't you call me back?"

"I didn't get them. There isn't much service where Dizzy lives. I'm sorry. I'm fine though." Evie shrugged. She walked over and kissed Macie on the top of the head.

"It's okay," Mal said. She was happy her heart rate could return to normal.

"I was hoping we could talk though," Evie told her, taking a spot on the couch.

Mal's heartrate sped up again. "Yeah, of course." She walked over and sat on the other end, facing Evie.

Evie took a deep breath before speaking, trying to settle her nerves. "You and I are in a relationship. This isn't a "Mal takes care of Evie" kind of thing. While I truly appreciate everything you've done for me, you are not my keeper or carer."

"I know that," Mal said quietly. It was true though. She hadn't been treating Evie much like a girlfriend.

"You don't." Evie told her, "you treat me like I'm going to break. You treat me like every time I leave the apartment, I'm getting myself into trouble. I'm an adult, M. I'm not a child. I can make my own choices."

"I just worry about you." Mal said back.

"Honey, I know you worry about me but you can't worry about me and neglect taking care of yourself." Evie said. "This relationship needs to be 50/50, starting with Macie."

"Evie..." Mal started.

"No." Evie stopped her. "I'm not going to hurt Macie. I'm not going to take Macie to buy drugs. I'm not going to do drugs while watching Macie."

"How can I be sure?" Mal asked.

"By trusting me, Mal." Evie raised her voice. "I'm not the only drug addict here. I get that she is yours and not mine. Trust me, I get it, but one day she could be mine too."

"I don't trust anyone with her." Mal said.

"You trust Chloe. And the people at your work." Evie snapped back. "And you've known me a hell of a lot longer than them."

"I also didn't have to help bring them back to life after they OD'd, E." Mal stood up and started pacing, glancing over and Macie who was watching them.

"What's the deal, Mal? What aren't you telling me?" Evie asked.

Mal sighed and watched her daughter play for a while.

"M?" Evie said quietly.

"When I was in the hospital, holding her, they told me they were going to take her from me and put her into foster care." Mal admitted.

Evie scrunched up her face, "why?"

"They said it was too dangerous for me to raise a child since I'm half dragon." Mal told her.

"That's bull." Evie replied. "You're a great mom."

"It took a lot of convincing, monitoring, check upsand social service visits for them to finally let me keep her." Mal said, sitting back down.

"Okay...so what does that have to do with trusting me?" Evie asked.

"I'm afraid that if I leave you alone with her and social services finds out, they will take her from me because you are barely clean." Mal finally admitted. She really didn't want to hurt Evie.

"Oh." Evie said quietly, looking over at Macie. "That makes sense."

"Evie, I'm so sorry. I really want to be with you but she's my kid. She comes first. Always. I just really need you to be clean a little longer before you two are alone. I'm sorry." Mal felt the tears welling up in her eyes. It hurt so much to deny the woman she loved.

"I get it." Evie said, almost silently. She understood. She did. It just hurt. "I want to be with you. More than anything, so if you need more time, you can have it."

"I'm sorry." Mal repeated.

"Don't be, okay? We will figure it out." Evie told her, scooting down the couch and taking the smaller girl's hand. "I don't understand how you can trust me with things like sex but not trust me with your kid for a few hours but it's okay."

"Sex is just sex." Mal replied, before realizing what she said.

"Right." Evie said quietly.

"No, baby. What I mean is that sex isn't scary to me. While yes there's some trust involved, it's different for me than it is for you. There is a part of me that's very nervous to sleep with you. It's just different. I don't know how to explain it."

Evie nodded. She didn't really know what to say. Sex to her was all about trust and intimacy and it was terrifying. To Mal though it wasn't. It was just sex.

"Evie, it's a different kind of trust okay? Please understand that it's just different."

"It's okay, M." Evie said. Macie walked over to her and Evie lifted her into her lap. "Hi." Evie kissed the smaller child's head.

"Hi, blue." Macie smiled, giggling when Evie tickled her.

Mal watched and smiled. Evie was so good with her and it made her feel so happy.

"Blue, play please." Macie said, wiggling down and running back to her toys.

Evie glanced at Mal and smiled a small smile before climbing down and crawling across the floor to Macie and her toys.

"I love you, E." Mal said quietly. So quietly that Evie didn't even hear her. They had so many issues, she honestly didn't know if they would make it. In that moment though, it didn't matter. Watching her girlfriend play with her daughter made her so happy.

—

"Hi, dad," Mal waved before leaning in to hug Hades.

"Hi, Malie," Hades said back, pulling out of the hug. "Hi, Macie."

Macie looked up at him and waved before going back to her doll.

Mal got Macie situated and sat down in the chair across from him. "How are you?"

"Not too bad. How are things going with you? And Evie?" He asked, mischief playing on his features.

"How on earth do you know about that? Mal asked.

"Evie's mom has been bitching about it for days. I just happen to hear about it." Hades laughed. "It's about time the 2 of you got together."

"Oh, shut up. What has EQ been saying?" Mal asked. She handed a piece of bread to Macie and took a bite herself.

"The usual crazy Queen spiel. Moaning about how her daughter will never marry a prince if she's dating you." Hades paused for a moment to order his lunch, followed by Mal. "How you aren't the one for her perfect daughter."

"Does she seriously not know that Evie is a lesbian? This isn't exactly new information." Mal shook her head. "That woman is insane and she needs to stay away from Evie."

"Speaking of crazy, how is your own crazy mother?"

"Still lizard-i-fied," Mal laughed. "Macie actually enjoys playing with her and helping to feed her. It's cute. Well until you remember that she's my mom and then it's sad."

"I prefer her like that," Hades grinned.

"Well of course you do." Mal laughed.

"Life is quieter this way," Hades chuckled. "Peaceful."

Mal rolled her eyes, "My life is never quiet. Between being a nurse, Macie and Evie, I don't get quiet. Or a break."

"How's Macie doing?" Hades asked, looking over at the toddler. She was currently spreading butter on the dolls face.

"Well as you can clearly tell, she's a genius," Mal laughed. She took the doll away and started cleaning it which warranted a very loud shriek from the child. "No." Mal disciplined.

Macie pouted for a moment before screaming again.

"Macie Evelyn Moors." Mal challenged, "Stop that."

Macie looked at her mom and pouted.

"She looks just like you, you know?" Hades laughed. "Just with darker hair."

Mal handed the clean doll back to her daughter and rolled her eyes.

"She's something." Mal took the butter away and put it on the opposite side of the table. "Aside from tantrums over butter, she is doing well. Her teacher never really has anything bad to say about her. She loves Evie."

"Do they get to spend a lot of time together?" Hades asked.

"Well she lives with us, so yeah," Mal laughed.

"Evie lives with you? Isn't that a little early in the relationship?"

"It's a long story," Mal shrugged. She shifted a little so the server could place her food on the table. Mal grabbed Macie's plate and started cutting up her chicken into smaller pieces, "She was technically living there before we got together. Drugs were involved."

"You or her?" Hades asked.

"Her. I've been clean since before Macie was born," Mal placed the plate back in front of Macie and focused on her own food.

"Just checking," Hades replied before taking a bite of his burger.

"I'm good. Tired but good."

"She isn't bringing drugs around my granddaughter, is she? Hades asked.

Mal shook her head. Hades didn't need to know about their struggles.

"So how do you really feel about me being with Evie? And dating a girl?" Mal asked, taking a bite of her salad.

"I think it's about time. You guys have been making eyes at each other for 10 years." Hades laughed. "I know she was your first kiss way back."

Mal almost spit out her food. "How do you even know that?"

"Word travels around the Isle so fast. You know that." Hades reached over and wiped Macie's face.

"I also locked her in a closet." Mal reminded him.

"Well it's about time she came out." Hades winked. "Seriously though, I'm really happy for you guys. I think you're good for each other. I may not know all the details of how you ended up here but in the end, the love between you has always been apparent."

"Thanks dad," Mal smiled. "I'm having some trust issues but I'm working on it."

"With the life you had before Auradon and the way you grew up, trust issues are normal." The blue haired man said, "don't let it ruin your chance at love though. Especially since you and Evie come from the same place and probably have a lot of similar fears and beliefs."

Mal nodded, her mind racing. There were very few people who understood how things were when they were kids, especially in the detail that Evie knew. Maybe she was afraid Evie would leave like her dad and mom did.

"Time for me to get back to stealing souls. Thanks for lunch." Hades stood up and stretched before leaning down to give Macie a kiss on the forehead. "Bye, trouble." Macie just waved.

"Bye, dad." Mal smiled, standing up to hug the much taller man. "Happy souls!"


	21. Chapter 21

Mal laid on the couch and flipped through a fashion magazine Evie left lying on the table. It was of no interest to her but she was bored and ready for Evie to come home. Finally she heard the click of the lock and sat straight up.

"Hi," Evie grinned as she walked through the door, dropping her bag at her feet.

"Hi, beautiful." Mal smiled leaning up to kiss Evie. "Where have you been?"

"Just walking around town mostly, window shopping, getting ideas." Evie sat down next to Mal and the girls shifted so Mal could wrap her arms around Evie as she leaned into her. "The monster asleep?"

Mal nodded, "she went down about 30 minutes ago."

"Mmm, good," Evie said, lazily. Laying in Mal's arms was so peaceful. She felt so safe and she loved it.

"So, I've been thinking," Mal started.

Evie chucked, "that's never good."

"Hush," Mal laughed. "I was thinking that maybe tomorrow while I'm at work, you could watch Macie."

Evie sat up and turned to face her girlfriend. "Seriously?"

Mal nodded, "I've talked to a lot of people about this and about my fears and while it's not easy for me, I need to trust you. You deserve a chance to have the person you're with trust you."

"Thank you," Evie said carefully. She was excited but nervous at the same time. "I promise, she will be great."

"I know, E. You're great with her and you guys will have fun." Mal told her, nervous but trying so hard to be supportive. "You've always been so good with Dizzy too. You always knew how to do the nurturing stuff. It was never my thing."

"Well you turned into a pretty good mom anyway." Evie smiled, leaning more into Mal, enjoying the warmth she gave off.

"I keep Macie alive so I guess I'm doing okay." Mal said back.

"I think you're doing a good job. I mean considering the mother you had. You're so much better than Maleficient. Or any of the mothers on the isle actually. Mine encouraged me to have an eating disorder and that beauty was all that mattered. Carlos's mom used to abuse him and she was mad as a hatter. There aren't really words for your mother. She treated you like you were dust that managed to get into her house." Evie paused for a moment, thinking about the hell they had gone through growing up. "You're kind of impressive, M."

"Do you think my mom would be proud of me?" Mal asked quietly. It was always something she wanted but tried to not think about.

"I'm sure she is proud of you, babe." Evie smiled.

Mal sat quietly for a while, lost in thoughts about her life the last 5 years. The moment Evie kicked her out of her life to this moment, laying with her arms wrapped around that same woman. She was happy. Actually happy. Drug free happy. It was nice.

"Are you okay?" Evie turned and sat up so she could look into those deep green eyes.

Mal nodded, "just thinking."

"Care to share?"

"I was just thinking about the last 5 years or so. You pushing me away, drugs, Macie, finding you again." Mal half smiled. "It's just been a lot."

Evie leaned in a kissed Mal, smiling before pulling away, "it's been rough."

"Do you care if we go to bed?" Mal asked, "I'm exhausted."

Evie nodded, smiling at the other woman. She stood up and held out her hand. Mal took ahold of it and hoisted herself up before they headed off down the hallway.

—

The loud sound of thunder woke Evie up a few hours later. She looked around when the lightening lit up the room. She hated storms. Her entire body tensed as another clap of thunder shook the room. Mal showed no sign of being disturbed.

Evie got up when she heard Macie cry from the other room. When she walked into the room, she saw Macie sitting up in her bed, sobbing at the noise.

"Hey, baby," Evie smiled, walking over to her.

"Blue," Macie made out through sobs. Tiny arms reached out until they closed around Evie. She immediately laid her head on the older girl's shoulder and continued to cry.

"You're okay, Mace," Evie told her as she gently rocked back and forth.

Mal woke with a start as a particularly loud clap of thunder radiated through the apartment. She looked over and panic sank in when she noticed Evie was gone.

"Evie!" Mal yelled, jumping from the bed and tearing through the room and into the hallway. A thousand thoughts rushed through her brain of where Evie would be at this time of night. "Evie!"

"Shhhhh!" Evie snapped from Macie's room.

Mal stopped in the doorway and took in what she saw. Evie was laying in Macie's bed with her and the toddler was completely passed out in her arms.

"She finally fell back asleep, M," Evie whispered to the young mom. "the storm woke her up."

Mal walked over and sat down on the bed and gently stroked the hair out of her daughter's face. "She's always been really scared of thunder."

"She was crying when I came in here." Evie told her.

"I feel awful I didn't wake up to it. I usually do." Mal chewed her bottom lip.

"It's okay, baby. I got her." Evie smiled and laid her arm out to signal Mal to lay down with her.

Mal laid down in Evie's arms and snuggled into the other woman, wrapping her arm around her daughter.

The 2 woman laid there for a while, enjoying the peaceful feeling.

After enjoying the peaceful sound of the rain falling, Mal looked over at Evie, the lightning causing her face to illuminate every minute or two. She couldn't believe how happy that face made her. How safe Evie made her feel.

"I love you," Mal said quietly.

Evie turned to face her girlfriend at the words. Had she heard correctly? "What?"

"I love you, Evie. I always have. I tried so long to not but I do. I can't help it."

Evie smiled and took in the words before responding, "I love you, too."

"We should get back to bed," Mal said softly.

Evie nodded and waited as Mal stood up and carefully lifted Macie off of her. Evie was sad when the weight of the toddler was removed. "She was warm," Evie laughed.

"Come on, I'll warm you up," Mal winked, holding out her hand and helping Evie up after putting Macie down on the bed.

"Is that so?" Evie laughed again.

"Mmmhmmmm," Mal responded and led the other woman back through to the bedroom.

Mal laid down on the bed and motioned for Evie to join her. Evie climbed into the bed and snuggled up into her girlfriend.

"How are you doing?" Mal asked, "with cravings and such?"

Evie was quiet for a moment. She wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. "I'm okay. I mean obviously it's hard and some moments I just want to give in. I know it would be easier. It just wouldn't be better though."

"That's a good step though. Knowing it's not better to do drugs." Mal kissed the top of Evie's head, smiling into the blue hair.

Evie just nodded in response. She was so content lying in Mal's arms. "Kiss me?"

Mal happily captured Evie's lips in her own and gently moved against her. She smiled into the kiss, letting herself melt into Evie's body.

Evie returned the kiss, turning so her body pressed perfectly into Mal's, legs tangling together.

The kiss deepened quickly as passion, want and need took over and fogged their minds. Evie wrapped her arms around Mal and pulled her closer, not being able to close the distance enough. She moaned into Mal's mouth as their tongues danced with each other. Mal's hands roamed up and down her body, sending shivers up and down her spine.

Mal stopped the kissing long enough to remove her shirt. The heat from their bodies was becoming to much. Mal leaned back into continue kissing Evie but she was stopped. Evie removed her own shirt. Neither girls were wearing bras so when they returned to their previous duel, their breasts pressed against each other's, forcing moans to fall between kisses.

Panting eventually caused Mal and Evie to pull apart, resting their foreheads against one another.

"We should stop, E," Mal said. She knew they needed to calm down. She didn't want to cause Evie to panic.

Evie chewed on her lip, wrestling with her thoughts. "I don't want to stop."

"What?" Mal said, completely taken aback by Evie's words.

"I don't want to stop," Evie repeated, her voice shaking a little.

"Evie..." Mal said slowly. It's not that she didn't believe what Evie was saying, she was just concerned.

"I love you, Mal. I want to be with you. I can't be scared forever."

"I love you, too." Mal smiled before leaning in and returning her lips to their previous position.

Things heated up quickly once again. Mal pushed Evie onto her back and straddled her. She looked down at the almost naked body beneath her. Evie looked both scared and aroused and it caused Mal to worry.

"Evie," Mal said quietly. "Are you sure about this?"

Evie nodded in response.

"I need words, E." Mal told her. She wasn't doing anything without repeated verbal confirmation.

"I'm sure, Mal. Please...touch me." Evie said, trying to sound more confident than she actual was. She wanted it so badly but she was so scared at the same time.

Mal climbed off Evie and sat down next to her. She brought her hand up to the bright blue hair and ran her fingers through it before leaning down and gently kissing the bright red lips below. Mal ran her hands down Evie's stomach, tracing her fingers along skin. She reached the waistband of Evie's panties and ran her fingers under the band. Mal locked eyes with Evie and watched her reaction as she started to slowly move the underwear down Evie's thighs and then down her legs. She readjusted herself and pulled Evie's panties off completely. She looked up into the dark brown eyes and watched for any signs that she should stop. All she saw was pure arousal in the dark eyes.

Evie's breath hitched a little once her underwear was removed. She had been naked in front of Mal before but now more was going to happen. Her heart was pounding but she wanted Mal so badly.

Mal very careful brought her fingers to Evie's core and started tracing around. Evie felt like her skin was on fire but in a good way. Every single touch felt intense. "Mal..." Evie breathed out.

Mal smiled and watched as Evie squirmed at the lightest touch. She continued to trace her fingers around the outer lips and just let the touch drive her girlfriend crazy. "More?"

"Yes..." Evie breathed out in response.

Mal happily took that answer and brought her fingers over to Evie's clit and began very slow circles.

"Fuck," Evie moaned. Mal's fingers felt incredible. She could feel her brain trying to have flashbacks to the rape but she refused for it to happen. She focused as hard as she could on the woman she loved.

Mal continued to run her fingers in circles, listening to Evie's moans and gasps. After a few moments, Mal moved her fingers down to Evie's entrance and traced her fingers through the extremely wet center waiting for her. "Evie..." Mal gasped, feeling the slick, liquid there.

Mal took a moment and locked eyes on Evie's one more time for confirmation. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Evie said. She thought she would go insane if she didn't get more of Mal soon. She was so caught up in the feeling of being touched by Mal that she didn't care anymore about her past. She just wanted Mal. In every way possible.

Mal nodded, feeling her own body growing wetter at the sights and sounds in front of her. She had never realized just how much Evie turned her on.

Evie literally stopped breathing when Mal's finger slipped inside of her. It was heaven. Once Mal curved her finger and starting sliding in and out, Evie thought she would lose her mind. She couldn't even see straight.

Mal very carefully but quickly slipped another finger inside the warm, tight area, immediately feeling the liquid coating that finger as well. In and out she moved her fingers, listening to Evie's pants and moans grow more intense.

Mal moved back up to be near Evie as she continued to move her fingers, loving the sounds echoing through the room. Mal looked down into Evie's eyes, which were fighting hard to stay open as the pleasure was ripping through her. Mal moved her fingers faster and faster and Evie gasped at the feeling.

"Mal..." she managed to get out, knowing she was close.

"I've got you, Evie," Mal said, moving her fingers as fast as she could until finally Evie tumbled over the edge.

"Fu..." Evie couldn't even get the word out as her body twisted and turned when she came.

Mal laid beside Evie and pulled her in close to let her come down from her high.

It took a while but eventually Evie was able to focus again on what was around her.

"Are you okay?" Mal asked. She was so scared that had gone too far too soon.

"Yeah," Evie said lazily before giggling.

"Why are you laughing?" Mal asked, smiling at Evie's reaction.

"You're amazing," Evie said, "I guess I didn't know that sex could feel like that."

Mal laughed at Evie's post orgasm high. "Maybe it's time we get some sleep."

"It's your turn," Evie insisted.

"This was about you. Not me, okay?" Mal told her, pulling her in close. "Let's just sleep."

Evie tried to argue but her exhaustion was winning the battle. "I love you, M."

"I love you too, E," Mal told her before closing her eyes and drifting off.


	22. Chapter 22

"The patient in bed 6 has a minor stab wound from a deal gone bad. I didn't ask what kind of deal but I'm sure we can all guess," Mal said as she sat the iPad down on the nurses station. "I cleaned out the laceration and he is just waiting on the doctor to stitch him up," Mal told Sofia right as her phone started to ring. She reached into the pocket of her scrubs and grabbed the phone, hitting answer before bringing to her ear.

"What's up, Chlo?" Mal asked, grabbing the iPad again to make some notes on the patient.

"Evie and Macie seem to be doing just fine. They were at the park playing." Chloe told her. Mal felt some relief.

"Did Evie see you?" Mal asked.

"Nope, you're good." Chloe laughed.

"Okay, thank you. Keep me posted." Mal quickly hung up the phone and went back to her patient notes.

"You have Chloe spying on your girlfriend?" Sofia asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Shut up, Sof." Mal rolled her eyes and walked away, heading toward the cafeteria. She needed coffee.

"Well look who it is!" Mal heard a voice that made her drop her head in exhaustion.

"Hi, Uma. What's up?" Mal asked, continue her walk to the coffee stand.

"Well you know, I just wanted to see where my favorite dragon worked." Uma laughed, clearly amusing herself.

"Shrimpy, I so don't have time for this. Why are you here?" Mal handed the cashier the money and took her coffee.

"I'm just going to ignore that lovely greeting because when I tell you why I'm really here, your day is going to get so much worse." Uma smirked.

"Out with it, Uma." Mal demanded.

"Your sister is back." Uma told her.

Mal froze and her coffee fell to the floor. "Excuse me?"

"Well, on the Isle anyway. Not Auradon. That's still too close for comfort though."

"What the hell is Hadley doing here?" Mal asked grabbing a napkin to clean up her mess.

Uma grabbed one as well and started to help. "The usual. Mischief and mayhem."

"Of course. Why can't my life be easy for 5 minutes?" Mal took a deep breath. "Has she seen Hades yet?"

"I don't think so. Mostly she's just on a petty crime spree it seems." Uma stood up and threw away her coffee soaked napkin. She handed the coffee cart guy more money and took the coffee in exchange. "Here."

Mal took it, grateful at the gesture. "I'll deal with it." Mal told her. "Thanks," she lifted the coffee up a little to show appreciation for it. "I gotta get back. Keep me updated."

"I will. Maybe next time I'll send Harry to tell you." Uma winked.

"Glad to see you still enjoy torturing me, Shrimpy." Mal turned and walked away. She had no time or energy to deal with her sister but it looked like she had no choice.

—-

"Hey, Evie, I'm home," Mal yelled when she walked through the door.

No answer.

"Evie!?" Mal said louder.

Nothing. 

Mal tore through the apartment, starting first in her daughter's room. Macie was fast asleep in her bed but no Evie in sight.

Mal raced into the bedroom. No sign of her girlfriend.

"EVI-" Mal yelled but stopped abruptly when she made it to the bathroom. "Evie!"

Mal ran and slid on the floor, making it to Evie in record time. She shook her girlfriend. "E, come on baby. Wake up!"

Evie was passed out on the floor, blood on her arms and blue hair causing a sharp contrast to bright white tile. She shifted and moaned a little when she was shaken but didn't wake up.

Mal picked up Evie's arm to examine the cuts. They definitely weren't deep enough to have caused Evie to pass out. Mal opened Evie's eyes and looked at the pupils. They weren't dilated. Mal breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't drugs either.

"Evie! Wake up!" Mal demanded, shaking her again.

Evie's eyes opened for a moment before shutting again.

"Evie! What did you take?" Mal demanded. She stood up and began looking around for any sign of what she took or what she did.

"Advil," Evie slurred.

"Advil?" Mal asked confused. "How much?"

"Mmmm four," Evie managed to get out.

"There's no way that's causing this, E," Mal told her. Mal grabbed Evie's wrist, careful of the cuts and took her pulse. It was racing. "Evie, I need you to stay awake for me."

Mal looked her girlfriend in the eyes. They were very unfocused. "Okay, we are going to go to the hospital." Mal helped Evie up and very carefully walked with her through the apartment and out to the car. Once she had Evie settled, she ran and grabbed Macie out of bed, much to Macie's dismay.

Before long, they had made it to the hospital. Mal had done everything she could to keep Evie awake during the ride. She ran inside and got one of the nurses and a gurney and ran back out to the car. While she got Macie out, the nurses got Evie.

"What's going on with her, Mal?" The nurse asked her as they made it down the hallway.

"I don't know. I came home and she was passed out in the bathroom. I saw the blood and figured she had cut herself too deep but that's not it. She said the only thing she took is Advil." Mal shifted Macie to her other hip and looked down. "Evie! Stay awake!"

"We've got her okay? You can't be in with her. You know that. Go get Macie settled in the daycare. They should be open. Hopefully we will know something when you get back."

Mal knew better than to argue so she headed in the opposite direction. She really wasn't a fan of the hospital daycare but she had no choice. She got Macie signed in and tucked into a bed before heading back down to the ER.

Evie was hooked up to an IV and asleep when she walked in. The nurse was typing on the iPad.

"Shouldn't she be awake?" Mal asked, sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"She's okay. We are monitoring her. We took her blood. It's down at the lab now. Her vitals actually look fairly good. Her pulse is a little fast but otherwise, she seems okay."

"What the hell is happening?" Mal asked, looking over at Evie.

"I'm guessing it's some sort of allergic reaction to the Advil. Do you know if she has ever taken it before?" The nurse asked.

"I honestly don't know if she takes a lot of painkillers. I don't think she does." Mal racked her brain to try and remember if she ever saw Evie take anything.

"I was just about to bandage her wrists up. Would you like to do it? Or do you want me to?" The nurse asked, holding up the box of bandages and medicine.

"You can. I'm too worked up." Mal told her.

"She will be okay, Mal. We are getting fluids in her. Whatever is in her system, whatever is causing this will get flushed out of her system." The nurse began working on Evie's wrists. The cuts were very minor now that they were cleaned and easier to see. They didn't require the gauze and big bandages they had anticipated.

"Hey guys," the doctor came in and looked over at Evie, who was still asleep.

"Do you have the results?" Mal asked, not even saying hi.

"I do. They came back clean. She has nothing in her system other than the Advil. So that's good." He said.

Mal let out a breath in relief.

"She's extremely dehydrated. So we are going to keep her here at least tonight to get that fixed. I believe she just had an allergic reaction to the Advil which mixed with her dehydration is causing this." The doctor walked over and did another exam of Evie.

"Evie," the doctor said quietly, causing her eyes to open for a moment. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Evie slurred.

"I'll bet. We are going to keep you here tonight and let you sleep, okay?" The doctor asked.

"Mmmmk," Evie said, closing her eyes again.

"She doesn't care," Mal chuckled a little.

"Mal, you can stay here tonight, of course. We can get them to bring a cot in for you."

"Thanks," Mal smiled a little at the doctor.

Mal looked over a Evie who was already passed out again.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Mal asked the doctor as her was walking out the door.

"She will be just fine." The doctor smiled before walking out the door.

"I'll go put in the notes for the bed for you okay? You know where to find me if you need me," the nurse told her, disappearing as well.

Mal looked over at Evie and broke down in tears. All the panic and adrineline that had rushed through her body had finally run out, causing the tears to flow. She was exhausted. Her emotions were out of control and she didn't know how to make it stop.

She just had repeating to her self that Evie was going to be okay.

—

"Mal?" Evie asked groggily. She looked around and realized she was in a hospital room. She started to panic a little when she saw a mess of blonde and purple hair in the bed next to her. "Mal?"

Mal shot up in response to Evie's voice, so happy to hear her speak again. "Hi, E. How are you feeling?"

"A little confused," Evie looked down at her arm and saw the IV. "What happened? Where's Macie? Is she okay?"

Mal nodded, "She's okay. Chloe has her. She came and got her about 5 this morning."

Evie nodded slowly, still trying to process what was going on. "Why am I in the hospital?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Mal asked her.

"Umm...I put Macie to bed. Then I went into our bathroom and -," she stopped speaking and looked down at her wrists to survey the damage she had done. She hadn't thought it was bad enough to land her in a hospital. Sure enough, simple bandaids covered the marks.

"Yeah you and I are going to talk about that in a minute. What else do you remember?" Mal asked again.

"My head really hurt. It had been hurting all day. So I got some Advil out of your medicine cabinet. Everything is sort of hazy after that." Evie told her.

"Have you ever taken Advil before, E?" Mal asked her.

Evie shook her head, "no but I know it's what everyone takes for headaches."

Mal laughed a little, "well it looks like you're the unlucky one who is allergic to ibuprofen. It caused you to pass out. They aren't sure why it caused you to react the way you did but you were also very dehydrated."

"Oh," was all Evie said. She never imagined she would be in a hospital for taking safe drugs.

The women were quiet for a bit while Evie digested what was going on.

Mal finally broke the silence, "do you want to tell me why you cut before you passed out?"

Evie chewed on her lip and started picking at her nails.

"Evie?" Mal asked quietly.

"I don't want to talk about this, M," Evie told her, still not making eye contact.

"Seriously?" Mal asked, hurt by the words. "I'm your girlfriend. Your best friend. Talk to me."

Evie looked deep into those green eyes she loved, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to."

Mal sat in silence for a a while before speaking. "Okay."

"I'm sorry," Evie told her.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Mal answered back, her tone changing.

Evie quickly noticed that she had upset Mal, "please don't be mad at me."

"It's fine," Mal said, "I'm going to go get something to drink."

Mal stood up and walked out the door before Evie had a chance to speak again.


	23. Chapter 23

Evie sat down on the bed defeated. She couldn't find her stupid sketchbook. She looked around the old hangout from so many years ago. Evie glanced across the giant room one more time before getting up and heading out.

She had idea where the book she wanted was. She assumed drug fueled Evie had taken it somewhere but sober Evie couldn't figure it out. Her levels of frustration were rising. Between fighting with Mal and not being able to find what she needed, Evie just felt defeated.

Evie had made it to the bottom of the staircase when a shorter woman with hot pink hair approached her.

"Evie!" The woman exclaimed.

"Um, hi?" Evie replied. She had no idea who this woman was but she looked slightly familiar.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" The mystery woman asked, getting far to close for Evie's liking.

"I'm sorry, no," Evie said, taking a couple steps backward.

"My name is Hadley and you should ask your precious little girlfriend about me," Hadley raised one eyebrow, a smug look creeping across her face.

Evie rolled her eyes and started walking away before turning back around "let me guess, another girl Mal used to sleep with?"

"Mal really hasn't told you about me?" Hadley asked again.

"No, and I'm bored with this conversation now so either tell me who you are or leave." Evie was seriously irritated with this woman.

"I think I'm going to continue to let you think I'm one of the many, many women that Mal has slept with. It's more entertaining for me." Hadley replied, smirking.

'Many women?' Evie thought. 'How many had there been?' "Well I'm not going to stick around to entertain you so bye." Evie turned to walk away.

"Have a good day, Evie," Hadley grinned.

Evie didn't have the time or patience for this woman. Of course Mal had slept with her. That was obvious. Evie just wished she had known.

—-

By the time Evie got back home, she had decided to let the situation go. There was no need to fight even more with Mal. Unfortunately the second she walked through the door, the words spilled out. "How many girls have you slept with?"

Mal whipped her head around, "excuse me?"

"You heard me. How many?" Evie demanded. She was so tired of Mal's silent treatment since the hospital.

"A few." Mal said, shrugging before walking off into the bedroom.

"Don't walk away from me, Mal." Evie warned, following after her.

"Or what, Evie? You'll slice and dice yourself again?" Mal whipped around? "I don't have the energy for this right now, okay?"

Evie felt like she had been slapped. "Excuse me?"

Mal closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. "I'm sorry, E. I didn't mean that. I just...I have a lot on my mind. I'm sorry. I'm frustrated and upset and tired and I'm sorry."

Evie chewed the inside of her mouth, hurt by Mal's words. "Why are you upset and frustrated?"

"I know you cut the other night because we had sex. It's the only logical reason. It's the only thing that happened that could've triggered you to hurt yourself. And that upsets me. I feel guilty." Mal pushed past Evie and walked into her daughter's room. She started going through the drawers, pulling out the clothes that were too small. Evie walked into the room and Mal could feel her presence but she didn't turn to face her.

"Mal..." Evie said quietly. "You are not the reason I hurt myself. You are the reason I am alive. You're the reason I'm sober. You are not the reason my brain is fucked up. I went from a very bad, very destructive life to a safe one literally overnight. Some things take time to rewire."

Mal turned around and looked into those deep caramel eyes that were brimming with tears. "I'm sorry, E." Mal pulled her girlfriend into a hug and held her close. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mal." Evie told her, melting into her arms.

They broke apart after a few moments. Mal spoke first "so who was this girl who claimed I slept with her anyway?" Mal asked, turning back around to the pile of clothes she collected.

Evie started making Macie's bed. "Hadley, I think." She shrugged.

Mal dropped the clothes she had. "Excuse me?"

"Hadley?" Evie repeated. "Bright pink hair, a little taller than you, a little shorter than me. Bright blue eyes."

"Yeah I know who she is. Are you positive it was Hadley you spoke to?" Mal asked again.

"Yeah. Why? Did you sleep with her?"

Mal shook her head violently. "Definitely not. Never."

Evie laughed, "why not? I mean she is clearly beautiful."

"She's Hades daughter," Mal said dryly.

"She can't be Hades daughter. Your Hades daughter. That would make her your sist-." Evie stopped at the realization.

Mal nodded.

Evie exploded. "You have a sister and you never told me!?"

"Whoa! Calm down, E." Mal raised her hands up, "I don't like Hadley and I don't spend time with her. I try to pretend she doesn't exist, honestly."

"Where has she been our whole lives? How could I possible have not known about her? Who is her mom?" Evie's head was swirling with questions.

"She is older than us. She has gotten is a lot of trouble in her life. So much so that even the Isle authority has told her to leave before. As far as I know she was on some of the outer lying islands for a while. Honestly, I don't keep up with her. Hades doesn't either. I only leaned she was back a few days ago from Uma."

Mal sat down on the toddler bed next to Evie, "as far as her mom goes, I'm honestly not sure. I've asked Hades a few times over the years and he has given me different answers every time. He told me Cruella once which entertained me a little that she could be Carlos' sister. Ursula, Medusa, Queen of Hearts, Gothel, Yzma...the list goes on and on. Hell he even once said the mom could be...well...your mom." Mal laughed a little.

Evie glared at her. "We could be sisters? You and I?"

Mal laughed even harder, "Baby, you and I aren't sisters. Even if we are both related to Hadley."

"This isn't funny, Mal!" Evie was not amused by this. She was freaking out.

"Look, no one knows who Hadley's mom is. She was dropped off at Hades when she was born with a note saying that she was his. That's all that is known. It's not like there is DNA testing on the Isle. As far as I know, Hadley didn't want to know anyway. She started causing seriously trouble when she was a preteen. About the time you and I were 5 or 6. Which is why you don't know her and why I barely know her. When she is around, she enjoys making my life hell. Which naturally entertains Uma to no end."

Evie rolled her eyes. She hated when she was reminded of the past relationship of Uma and Mal.

"Look, I will deal with Hadley. I don't know how but I will. Uma said she is causing problems on the Isle again."

"Do you talk to Uma a lot?" Evie ask quietly?

"I really, really don't." Mal promised her.

Evie nodded.

"I have to get to work. Are you okay with getting Macie from school?" Mal asked.

"Of course," Evie told her. "Have a good shift." Evie leaned over and kissed Mal. "I love you."

"I love you, too."


	24. Chapter 24

"Is she asleep?" Evie asked when Mal came back through to the bedroom.

"Yep. Completely passed out. Drago clutched in her arms." Mal smiled. She grabbed the lotion off the dresser and started putting some on her legs. She always had dry skin and she blamed her mom.

"Where did that dragon come from, anyway?" Evie wondered about the bright blue stuffed dragon that Macie slept with every night.

"Hades," Mal smiled. "When I told him I was pregnant, he went out and bought the dragon. Or he stole it. I'm not sure," Mal laughed. "He wanted it to be blue for him and a dragon for mom. I to this day have no idea why he was so nice about it but I think he knew how scared I was."

Evie smiled, "that's cute. I feel like Hades would light me on fire if he found out I knew that story."

Mal smirked, "you are correct."

Mal climbed in the bed, dropping the lavender robe onto the floor beside her. She preferred to sleep in as little clothes as possible. She got very warm at night from the dragon part of her.

Evie looked down at Mal and smiled.

"Are you getting into bed?" Mal chuckled.

Evie nodded and climbed in next to her. She snuggled up close to her. She laid there for a moment before leaning over and kissing the side of Mal's face.

"What's up, E?" Mal asked, looking over at her.

Evie started to pick at her fingers nervously. "Well, I mean we haven't, not really, I mean since me, and you deserve too."

Mal scrunched you her face as she tried to follow her girlfriend's thought train. "Sex?" Mal asked slowly.

Evie nodded.

"Are you ready for that? Last time, you ended up with cuts on your arm," Mal looked down at the marks on Evie's arm that still weren't healed.

"I want to be normal, Mal. I want to be able to sleep with my girlfriend. I want to be intimate and feel good and touch you and not be scared." Evie admitted.

Mal looked into the caramel eyes in front of her. "Okay."

Evie's worried lips broke into a smile. "Yeah?"

"Of course. We are on your schedule. If you're ready for more, then more it is." Mal sat up and grabbed Evie's hand. She didn't admit it to Evie but she was scared of sex too. She hadn't really had sex since before Macie and that was incredibly drug fueled. She enjoyed sex before that but she was practically a kid then. She knew she had to be confident though to not mess with Evie's head more.

Evie grinned so big that Mal could see her molars before she pushed Mal down and kissed her. The kiss was intense, full of passion and very unlike Evie. Mal was completely taken back and turned on at the same time. After a moment she pulled back to catch her breathe. "E..."

"Hi," Evie smiled.

Mal smiled back before pulled Evie back to her lips.

Evie's hand was shaking as she snaked her fingers down the blonde's chest. She was secretly happy Mal slept in just underwear. It made things easier. Evie gently allowed her fingers to trace Mal's nipple and the skin around it. Mal squirmed and shivered again the feeling. Tongues dueled and moans escaped as Evie's hands continued their movement downward.

Evie smiled into the kiss when she reached Mal's very toned stomach. You would never have guessed she had a baby. Her body showed no signs of it. Not a single stretch mark was across the porcelain skin. It was perfect. Evie thought all of Mal was perfect.

Evie pulled away from the kiss so she could remove Mal's panties. They were in her way now. She also needed to catch her breath and steady her nerves but she didn't want Mal to know that. She swallowed deeply before returning to her spot next to her girlfriend and her fingers began their dance again.

Evie ran her fingers along Mal's hipbone, from one to the other. The blonde jumped from the feeling so close to where she wanted it most.

"Evie..." Mal whispered breathlessly. She was trying to not beg but she really wanted Evie to touch her.

Evie didn't want to tease Mal. She figured she wouldn't be good at it anyway. She didn't know how to be good at this. She knew she didn't want to stop though so she didn't care. Mal seemed to be enjoying things so Evie wasn't that concerned.

Evie hesitantly moved her fingers down further, loving the sounds Mal was making as her digits moved. She felt her own arousal grow when Mal gasped as Evie's fingers made contact with her clit for the first time. Evie took that as a good sign and very slowly started moving her fingers in a circle, listening to the moans and gasps coming out of the blondes mouth.

Mal squirmed underneath her girlfriend, the feeling of being touched making her lose her mind. She wanted more, needed more. She never wanted anything more than she wanted Evie in that exact moment. "More..." she moaned.

Evie grinned and moved her fingers faster for a moment before pulling them away and quickly pushing two of her fingers into her girlfriend.

"Fuck..." Mal moaned loudly. She was seeing stars.

Evie leaned down and kissed Mal's neck as she started to move her fingers in and out. Mal could feel herself getting closer and closer faster than she had anticipated. Evie just felt so incredible. She was so close to the edge that it wouldn't take much longer for her to tumble over.

Just then, a soft knock came from the door. "Mommy."

Mal immediately snapped out of the bliss she was in as Evie rolled off her and fell off the bed.

"Are you okay?" Mal yelled through the door as she grabbed her robe off the floor and threw it on. She looked over at her girlfriend who was holding her wet fingers in front of her, like she didn't know what she was supposed to do with them. "Wipe them off," Mal laughed and whispered. Evie immediately stuck her fingers in her mouth instead and enjoyed the taste of Mal for the first time. She raised her eyebrow at the blue haired girl.

"Mommy," Macie repeated again.

Mal shook her arousal away and waited until Evie was back under the comforter and completely covered before she unlocked and opened the door. "Hi baby."

"Mommy," Macie said again, walking into the room, climbing up into the bed, settling next to Evie. "Blue."

"Hi, baby," Evie smiled, very aware she was naked under the covers.

"Macie, what are you doing awake," Mal asked, sitting down next to the toddler. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Macie shook her head. "Mouse."

"Mouse?" Evie shrieked. She didn't like mice.

"No, E, not a real mouse." Mal told her before turning back to her daughter, "the mouse is back?"

Macie nodded.

"What mouse?" Evie asked, still not filling convinced there wasn't an actual mouse.

"It's a green mouse," Mal explained, "it's her imaginary friend."

Evie scrunched up her forehead, "right."

"Mickey," Mal emphasized to Evie before turning her head back to her daughter, "came into our lives last year. He likes to come around every once in a while," Mal ran her hands over her daughter's hair, twirling the ends of it. "And sometimes, Mickey wakes Macie up."

Macie nodded and climbed up into Mal's lap, snuggling into her chest. Evie watched and smiled. As much as Mal turned her own, seeing Mal like this was her favorite.

"Do you want to sleep with us?" Evie asked. Macie nodded. "Mal?" Evie gestured with her eyes to show that she was still naked.

"Right," Mal laughed. "Okay, Macie, lets go get Drago and then we can all get ready for bed."

Mal stood up and lifted Macie out of the bed. "And mommy Evie can put some clothes on," Mal whispered, just loud enough for Evie to hear.

"Mal!" Evie yelled, "she shouldn't hear that!"

"She's not even 3. She's fine. Get dressed and we will be back." Mal grinned before walking out the door.

—

Mal was awoken by her phone ringing the next morning. She fumbled for it off her nightstand and answered, not even bothering to look who it was.

"Yes?" She asked, hello was necessary this early.

"Is that anyway to greet your big sister?" Hadley laughed on the other end of the line.

Mal shot up in bed causing Evie and Macie to wake and sit up too.

"Hadley?" Mal asked timidly, hoping it was just a joke that Uma was playing on her.

"How many other sisters do you have?" Hadley asked and Mal could just tell she was smirking.

"What the fuck do you want?" Mal demanded.

"Fuck!" Macie repeatedly excitedly.

"No, Macie. You don't say that," Mal replied cutting Evie off from saying the same. She didn't want Hadley to know she was there.

"Who is Macie? She sounds dumb." Hadley replied.

"She's my daughter. She's almost 3." Mal answered and sighed, "what do you want, Hadley?" Mal made a point to pronounce every word clearly.

"You have a daughter? Someone was dumb enough to get you pregnant? Jesus Christ." Hadley cackled.

"Goodbye, Hadley." Mal said before ending the call.

"Are you okay?" Evie asked.

"No, go back to sleep." Mal said, rolling over, her back facing her girlfriend and her daughter.

"Fuck!" Macie said again, giggling to herself.

"Come on, Macie, why don't I get you some breakfast and we will let mommy sleep for a while."

Mal felt the bed shift as the girl's got up. She smiled a half smile in appreciation.

"I'll work on the fuck thing but you should really watch your mouth around her," Evie winked before letting the child lead her out of the room.

—-

"Hey, Hades," Evie said when she opened up the front door to let Mal's dad in.

"Hey," Hades said back, walking into the room.

"Mal's just getting Macie changed and ready for you." Evie told him.

"Good."

Evie stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say to him. They had never been close and she could feel how awkward it was.

"Mal!" Evie yelled through the apartment.

"I'm coming! Jeez!" Mal responded, walking into the living room, Macie in tow.

"She seems tense," Hades whispered to Evie.

Evie nodded. She knew exactly what was making her girlfriend tense but she couldn't do anything about it. Mal had been so grumpy since they had been interrupted the night before and Hadley's call this morning.

"I'm fine!" Mal snapped. "Look, you haven't watched her much so let's go over the rules again. Do not leave this apartment. No fire. No stealing souls. And absolutely no trips to the Isle. We will be back in a few hours. We are having dinner with Jay and Carlos."

"You got it." Hades smirked.

"And I swear to you that if you let Hadley anywhere near my daughter, you will wish someone stole your soul. Do you understand me?" Mal asked threateningly.

"Jeez, Malie. You need to chill out." Hades told her.

"I'm serious, dad." Mal warned him.

"I know, Malie," he threw his hands up.

"Hades!" Mal demanded, her eyes turning green. She didn't have time or patience to deal with his non caring attitude.

"Whoa, babe, calm down," Evie stepped over and grabbed Mal by the arm. "Breathe. He will be fine with her. No Hadley. No souls. No leaving the apartment. Okay?" Evie glanced over at Hades who nodded.

"I promise," Hades told her. "TV, dinner, bed."

Mal sighed, "Thank you."

"We won't be gone too long, thank you," Evie smiled as she grabbed Mal's hand to lead her out the door.

Once they made it to the car, Evie spoke again. "Mal, what's wrong with you?"

Mal took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I don't like knowing Hadley is around. It makes me nervous. Now she has my phone number, she probably knows where we live."

"She isn't going to hurt you or Macie," Evie told her.

"And you?" Mal asked, quietly. "She will go after the people I love."

"She isn't going to get to me, M." Evie reassured her. "Come on, we are going to be late."

"Yeah," Mal smiled, "and then when we come home, maybe I can finally get that orgasm I was teased with."

Evie rolled her eyes and buckled her seatbelt. "Just drive."


	25. Chapter 25

Mal and Evie made it to the restaurant first. Which surprised them since they had a toddler to deal with and get situated. "They are late," mal commented.

"They will be here soon," Evie rolled her eyes at the impatient woman.

Right on cue, Jay and Carlos walked through the door. After greetings and hugs, the foursome took their spots again. It was awkward. They used to be able to talk about it everything and now, it felt strained.

"This is weird," Carlos said with a half chuckle.

"A little," Evie agreed.

"Well let's start with the easiest thing. You two are finally a couple," Jay smiled.

"It's definitely about time," Carlos agreed.

"Shut up," Mal laughed.

"Well it's not like you weren't head over heels for each other. Neither of you would admit it but it was obvious to every other person who ever met you." Jay shrugged.

"And no one could explain any of this to us?" Evie raised her eyebrow.

"We knew you guys would figure it out eventually," Carlos told her.

"Yeah but you might have saved us years of hurt and abuse," Mal said quietly.

"Even if someone had told you that you both felt the same, you were teenagers then. It wouldn't have worked as well. You both needed to grow up and experience life first," Carlos explained.

The server came over and took their order before they continued.

"You wouldn't have Macie," Evie told Mal.

"Macie is your daughter right?" Jay asked.

Mal nodded. She loved her daughter but she wasn't one to completely gloat and drool over her. "Yeah, she's almost 3."

"Wow. I can't believe you have a kid." Carlos said. "When Evie told me at the clinic, I was shocked."

"Why? You don't think I can be a mom?" Mal asked defensively.

"What? No, that's not what I meant," Carlos quickly replied. "I just mean with how you were raised, I didn't think you wanted kids."

"Well it wasn't really my choice but it happened and she is perfect." Mal quipped back.

"I'm sure she is," Jay told her.

Evie reached over and took Mal's hand, calming the blonde slightly.

"How about a new subject?" Evie asked. "What have you guys been up to? You've heard all the rumors about the 2 of us, what about you?"

"I run a thrift shop like my dad but mine is a bit more legit. I help out coaching Tournie when I can at the school. I play sports as often as I can."

"Any love interests?" Mal asked, smirking a little.

"No," Jay laughed. "I've dated here and there but never anyone who fits completely."

"Yeah, me either," Carlos said. "Between vet school and my internship, I just don't have any time."

"I understand. If my girlfriend didn't literally live with me, I'm not sure I would have time either," Mal smiled at Evie. "Nursing takes up so much time. I feel like I'm always working and dropping Macie off everywhere."

"What made you want to be a nurse?" Carlos asked. "I don't remember you mentioning it growing up."

Mal swallowed before answering, "well...umm...when I was using, I had a couple close calls. The nurses were always really nice to be when I was there, even though they shouldn't have been. They could've treated me like shit but they treated me like a person. There was this nurse who was always there when I OD'd and she was just really kind. It made me want to help people too. So when Macie appeared and I quit, I went to school."

"That's really great, Mal." Jay smiled.

The server brought their food over and they started eating.

Mal found herself lost in thought as she ate and the others chatted away. She was stressed and tense lately and even though she tried to not be, she could feel it getting worse. Between Macie and Evie and now Hadley along with her nursing schedule, she felt like the whole weight was on her shoulders. Having dinner with Jay and Carlos was just reminding her of all she had been through, of how different things could've been. It was eating away at her.

"Mal?" Evie asked, looking over at her girlfriend. She was staring off into space. "Babe?" She shook Mal's arm gently.

Mal snapped back into focus and smiled. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired."

"That's okay, Mal," Carlos smiled.

"Why don't you head home? I'll finish up the boys and meet you there." Evie smiled.

Mal nodded, but didn't say a word. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she felt like everything was hitting her at once.

"It was good to see you, Mal. We will meet up again, okay?" Jay told her. Mal made her way around and hugged the boys before kissing Evie.

"I'll see you at home." Mal told her, waving bye to the group before walking out the door.

—-

Mal didn't go home though. She headed straight to Chloe's. She knew full well what was about to happen and she needed her best friend to stop her. She parked outside, opened her glovebox and took the small vial out. It had been in there for years. She hadn't touched it until now. She put it in her pocket and walked up to the door, knocking 3 times before the door was answered.

"Mal?" Chloe asked, confusion covering her face.

"Hey, can I come in?" Mal asked, not really waiting for an answer before she walked through the door and sat down on the couch.

"Are you okay? Is Evie okay?" Chloe asked quickly, sitting down next to her friend.

"Yeah, she's out with Jay and Carlos. I was there. But I left." Mal's mind was running a million miles an hour and her thoughts weren't quite connecting with each other.

"Mal?" Chloe asked, causiously.

"Huh?" Mal asked, spacing out again.

"Talk to me," Chloe told her.

Mal ran the coke around in her fingers before speaking. "I'm...lost." Mal said quietly. Those weren't the right words but they were all she could manage.

"I need more than that, sweetie," Chloe said, taking Mal's free hand.

"Macie and work and Evie and Hadley and what could've been. What should've been and I just can't," Mal rushes.

"You can't focus on what could've been, Mal," Chloe told her.

"If I had walked with Evie that night, she never would've been raped, she wouldn't have dismissed me, I wouldn't have done coke and meth and heroin and every other drug I could get my hands on. I wouldn't have been so high I don't remember the father of my kid. I wouldn't have a kid or responsibilities. I should be a normal girl in her early twenties. Evie and I should've been together for years now, not months. Hadley shouldn't be around, threatening my life. Everything should be different. Everything should be easy. My body wouldn't be damaged, my heart wouldn't have been broken." Mal rambled all this off in a matter of seconds, while tears fell down her face.

Chloe sat quiet for a moment and Mal knew she was trying to figure out what to say first. Before she could speak, Mal pulled out the white powder she was hiding and showed it to her. "I want to."

Chloe chewed her lip for a moment before gently taking the vial from her friend. "Okay." She dumped out a little bit on the table and grabbed a credit card to line it up for Mal so it was ready to go. "Do it."

Mal scrunched up her face. That wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "What?" She stammered.

"You want it, do it. Right now. Here where I can keep an eye on you so you don't fuck up your life." Chloe told her.

"You're giving me permission?" Mal asked.

"No, but I would rather you do it here with me than out on the street or with Evie and bring her down with you." Chloe reasoned.

Mal sat for a second before leaning in.

"But..." Chloe said before Mal was able to snort the coke. "Just remember you are throwing away over 3 years of sobriety. You will have to start all over again I will be watching you 24/7 to make sure you don't get addicted. I was monitor Macie like a hawk. You will be a drug addict again. Not a recovering one. Evie will be pissed and potentially use this as an excuse to start again."

Mal sat up and looked at her friend. Her words ringing through her mind.

"Or," Chloe continued, "you can sit with me and cry and we can talk and see if that makes you feel better."

Mal was quiet for a long time. She knew Chloe was right and she needed to behave but the thought of that high was so intoxicating.

"Mal," Chloe said quietly.

Mal nodded and Chloe quickly brushed the drugs back into their vial before disposing of them. Once Chloe sat back down Mal broke down in sobs, leaning into her best friend, letting herself cry."

—-

Evie walked through the door expecting to see Mal but instead she was greeted with Hades and Macie.

"Blue!" Macie yelled, running and tackling her pseudo mom.

"Hi baby," Evie smiled, scooping Macie up in her arms. "Where's mommy?"

Macie looked around and shrugged.

"Why don't you go put on some pjs while I talk to Grandpa?" Evie told her, setting her down and watching her run away before turning to Hades.

"Where's Mal?" Evie asked.

"Isn't she with you?" Hades leaned down and starting picking up the mess they had made.

"No..." Evie said slowly. "She left before me from dinner."

"Weird," Hades answered.

"So where is she?" Evie asked again, panic starting to rise her in voice. She pulled out her phone and quickly clicked on Mal's name.

No answer.

Evie tried again. And again. And again.

"Where is she?" Evie asked again, louder this time. "Where is Mal?" Evie was starting to shake. "What if something happened to her?" Evie's own past started flashing through her mind. Rape. Drugs. Terror. She could feel herself struggling to breathe.

"Hey, Evie, it's okay," Hades told her. He led her over to the couch and sat her down. "Breathe."

Evie tried to steady her breath. All she could see was Mal, laying, hurt running over and over through her mind.

"Breathe, Evie," Hades told her again. "I'm sure Mal is okay. You need to calm down. Don't panic. Breathe."

Evie kept trying, over and over again to calm herself.

"Hey, Evie, look, your phone." Hades handed the phone to Evie who immediately answered.

"Mal?" She demanded.

"Hi, baby. I'm here. I'm okay. I'm so sorry." Mal told her quickly.

"You're okay?" Evie asked, breaking down in a new set of tears at the relief.

"I'm okay. I'm on my way. I'm okay." Mal told her.

Evie nodded and hung up the phone. "She's okay. She's on the way but she's okay."

"Good. Why don't you go get Macie ready for bed and I'll head out. Everything is okay." Hades told her. He patted her on the leg before getting up and walking out the front door.

Evie sat there for a while before Macie came running in. She laughed at the outfit Macie had come up with. She had on spiderweb leggings, a tank top that was hot pink with a dinosaur on it and a bright red beanie that was sitting crooked on her head. "Nice pjs."

"Thanks!" Macie said, a giant grin on her face.

"Are you ready for bed?" Evie asked her, already knowing the answer.

Macie shook her head. "Where's mommy?"

"She will be home soon, baby." Evie smiled at the small girl who had climbed up into her lap.

It was only a few moments later that Mal walked through the door. "Hi girls," Mal plastered on a smile but knew her face was red from crying.

"Hi, M," Evie smiled but quickly noticed that Mal had clearly been crying. "What's wrong?"

"Let's get Macie to bed first," Mal told her. She really didn't want to talk in front of her daughter.

Mal reached down and picked up Macie, hugging her close. No matter how much she wished things were different, she really did love being a mom. "It's bedtime, little one."

"No," Macie laughed.

"Yes," Mal told her. She carried Macie into her bedroom and dropped her into the bed. "Under the covers, small fry."

Macie scrunched up her entire face in response but didn't move.

"Let's go," Mal snapped.

"Huff!" Macie dramatically sighed, climbing under the covers and looking up at her mom.

"Good girl. I love you. I'll see you in the morning." Mal kissed the top of Macie's head. "Sweet dreams."

Mal walked back through to the living room and saw Evie sitting there, waiting patiently. She looked so scared. The blonde sat down next to her and pulled her in close.

"Where were you?" Evie asked quietly.

"Chloe's" Mal answered.

For some reason, jealously seared through Evie's body. "Chloe's?"

"Yes. I needed someone to talk to," Mal answered.

"Oh," was all Evie could say in response.

"I wanted to talk to you, I just needed away from everything, baby." Mal told her.

"What happened?" Evie asked.

"Drugs," Mal told her. "I wanted them. I went over there with some and Chloe talked me out of it."

"Why? You've been doing so good," Evie looked deep into the bright green eyes in front of her.

"I'm just stressed. There's all this pressure on me and I just slipped. I didn't do anything though, I promise." Mal explained.

"I'm sorry," Evie told her, leaning in and kissing Mal before speaking again. "I'm proud of you though for going and talking instead of immediately doing something bad."

"Thanks," Mal said quietly. She was feeling embarrassed and tired. "Can we go to bed? I really need to get some sleep."

"Of course," Evie smiled before standing up and reaching her hand out.

Mal took it and let herself be taken to bed.


	26. Chapter 26

Mal grabbed her bag off the counter before making her way to the door. "Okay, so I have work until 6 and then I have my NA meeting. I'll be home after that."

Evie scrunched up her nose. "Why are you going to NA?"

"Because I bought coke and almost relapsed," Mal reminded her.

"But you didn't do it. So clearly you don't need the meeting." Evie shrugged.

Mal rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. "I get that you don't like the meetings but I need them. They are good for me. They help me."

"But you're fine." Evie protested.

"You didn't know me when I was on drugs, E," Mal told her. "I was bad. Trust me, you don't want me going back down that road again."

"You couldn't have been any worse than anyone else," Evie told her.

"You know that building down by the bakery? It used to be a club? It's burned down?" Mal asked.

Evie nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm the reason it's burned down. And I didn't do that in dragon form. I was a very bad person on drugs. So I'm going to my meeting. You don't understand just how quickly I can spiral out of control, E." Mal told her. "I'll be home later."

With that, Mal walked out the door and headed to work.

—-

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change..." Mal mumbled the words that she had said 1,000 times before, looking around at the room of strangers. People clearly in their first week of recovery. It reminded Mal of her very first meeting. How scared she had been, how pissed off, how distant.

Mal listened to everyone talk, choosing to not share her story this week. She just needed to be in the room, to hear the others talk to ground her. She stood up when the meeting was finally over, opting to skip the snacks and walked out of the building. She wasn't really sure what she was expecting from a meeting. She hadn't been to one in a long time. It hadn't helped.

Mal figured taking a walk might help calm her mind so she headed off down the street, leaving her car at the meeting. Her mind continued to spiral like it had for months and months. Her stress levels higher than she could handle. Her insane sister still hanging out on the Isle, causing trouble she couldn't handle right now.

Mal didn't know what was wrong with her. She had a beautiful daughter, a woman she loved and a job she worked her ass off for. Yet she wasn't okay. Maybe the toll of always taking care of people had finally gotten to her?

Mal turned the corner, absentmindedly walking along until she came across a bar she had frequented years ago. She looked at the sign for a moment, debating before walking through the front door.

"Well if it isn't Mal Moors back from the dead." A voice echoed from behind the bar.

"Hey, Johnny," Mal smiled. She hadn't been here in over 3 years but of course she was remembered.

"You drinking today?" He asked, when she plopped herself down on one of the bar stools.

Mal twisted her hands around a few times before ordering a tequila shot.

Johnny handed it to her, watching her closely. "I heard you were sober. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I was never a drunk. I had a problem with drugs. 2 different things." Mal told her, forcing herself to believe it. She stared at the shot for a moment before lifting it to her lips and quickly pouring the alcohol in her mouth, swallowing it before she could change her mind. It burned through her throat, down her esophagus and into her stomach. "What do I owe you?"

Mal paid the man was he was owed before saying goodbye and heading back into the sunlight.

—

Evie sat on the floor, playing with Macie. She hadn't heard from Mal in a few hours and she was a little worried. They didn't constantly check in with one another but they definitely kept each other updated.

"Where is your mommy?" Evie asked the toddler.

Macie looked around and raised her hands up, "don't know, Blue."

"Me either, baby," Evie sighed. She grabbed her phone and tried Mal again. This time the woman picked up.

"Hey! Are you okay? I was getting worried." Evie asked.

"I'm good. I'm on the way home. The meeting ran long. Have you guys eaten?" Mal rambled off quickly.

"No," Evie answered, "Macie has been so distracted with this new train set the boys bought her that she hasn't really focused on much else."

Mal laughed, "okay, I'll pick up some pizza. See you girls soon."

Evie smiles as she hung up the phone. "Mommy's bringing pizza!"

"Pizza!" The almost 3 year old clapped. Her vocabulary was improving but she still hadn't managed many sentences.

"Should we clean up?" Evie asked, knowing the answer.

"No. No clean," Macie stated matter of factly while shaking her head.

"Yeah, I figured," Evie laughed. She stood up from the floor and stretched out her back a little.

—

The blonde walked through the door a little while later holding a box of pizza. "Dinner time," she announced.

"Mommy!" Macie ran up to Mal as fast as her little legs would carry her. Mal say down the pizza and scooped up her smallest love. She leaned over and kissed her girlfriend who came to greet her as well.

Evie immediately tasted the tequila that still remained on her lips and tongue. She felt herself tense up and freeze, her mind racing. She knew she would have to approach things very carefully to not risk a fight.

"Hi guys," Mal smiled at them. "Did you have a good day with Blue?"

Macie nodded and squirmed her way down to the ground. "Pizza please."

Mal and Evie rolled their eyes and headed into the kitchen. Evie started putting the dinner on plates while Mal lifted her daughter into her high chair.

The taller woman sat the plates down on the table and handed Macie hers. The toddler immediately starting grabbing the pieces and bringing them to her mouth.

"She definitely loves Pizza," Mal laughed before taking a bite of her own. "So how was your day?"

Evie nodded, not wanting to speak, afraid she would say the wrong thing. Afraid she would send Mal back out to a bar.

"You're not speaking?" Mal asked, arching her eyebrow.

"I am." Evie replied, "how was your day? How was NA?"

Mal shrugged, "it was okay. I didn't talk, just listened. It was nice to hear others talk about the shit they've been through."

Evie took a bite of her pizza while Mal spoke, swallowing before speaking again. "I'm glad it was helpful. What did you do after? You're home kind of late."

Mal quickly came up with a lie, "I saw an old friend at the meeting. We went and had some coffee for a few minutes. Caught up on what had been going on."

"Coffee, huh? That's good," Evie told her. She couldn't believe she was being lied to but at the same time, she understood it.

"It was nice. I missed you guys though so I cut it short and came home," Mal smiled. She could tell Evie didn't quite believe her but she also knew Evie wasn't one to push and cause a fight.

"Well I'm glad you're home," Evie smiled. She reached over and grabbed Mal's hand right as Macie decided she was done and flipped her plate off her high chair.

"Oh, me too," Mal laughed.

"If you want to get her ready for bed, I'll clean up," Evie smiled.

Mal nodded, lifted the toddler and disappeared into the back of the apartment.

Evie got to cleaning up the small mess that was made, her mind racing. Mal clearly wasn't drunk. Evie had seen Mal drunk when they were younger. The taste on her lips had been unmistakably tequila though. Had she wanted to get caught? Mal was smart enough to have avoided the kiss. Evie didn't know what to do or what to think. She was barely hanging on to her own sobriety. She didn't know how to deal with someone else's.

By the time she had the kitchen cleaned up, Evie had decided to not bring anything up. She would keep an eye on her girlfriend and hope for the best. At least until she could figure out another plan.

—

Mal woke up to a pitch dark bedroom and a sleeping girlfriend sometime around 3 am. She didn't know what woke her up. She felt like she was being watched. She got up and went to the window, looking out to the street below. She could see a couple people but none she recognized. Nothing seemed to be amiss in the outside world.

Mal climbed back into bed and checked her phone. She had multiple messages from Uma and Harry, even one from Gil, and one from Dizzy. Her heart lurched as she began looking through them.

"Hadley is out of control." -Uma

"Your sister needs to be stopped." -Harry

"Hades other daughter took my bike." -Gil

"You need to stop your sister. She tried to rob Celia's dad." -Dizzy

Mal sighed and pressed her fingers to her temple. She couldn't handle this. Why was it up to her to stop Hadley. Why couldn't Uma or Hades? Why was it solely her responsibility?

As quietly as she could, Mal got dressed. It was now or never. She needed to go see Hadley. Face to face. The blonde had no doubts her sister was awake. Probably at some bar. Mal would find her. She had no idea what she would say but she would think about that on the way.

Mal scribbled a note for Evie, kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the bedroom.


	27. Chapter 27

Mal didn't really want to go to the Isle. Especially not at 3am. She didn't rush to get there and found her self stepping off the bridge much sooner than she had hoped. There was a different feeling to the Isle now that the barrier had been broken. It was still a seedier place but without the constant cloud hanging over, it had lightened a little.

The blonde had no idea where to even start. The only places open at this time would be bars and Tramaine's. She certainly had no desire to see the that particular Lady so she headed off to the strip that housed the bars.

The best thing about the Isle was the size. It was only a few blocks until she reached the street she was looking for. 10 or so bars lined the streets, all in competition with each other to serve the best (and strongest) alcoholic concoctions.

Mal walked along the street, heading to the one bar she frequented as a teen, hoping Hadley had the same taste as she did. On the way she passed The Big Bad Wolf Tavern, Hearts Liquor and Beer, Frollo's Froyo (the only thing on the street that wasn't a bar but did sell alcoholic treats) and Shere Khan's Bar and Grill.

She finally stopped in front of the one place she was looking for. Snake Eyes Cocktails and More. It had been her favorite bar when she was younger. They never asked for ID (not that anyone cared if they did) and they served her all time favorite drink: Oogie Boogie's Goo. She had never asked what was in it but it was delicious. A little sweet, a little tart and completely tasty.

Mal pushed open the door and walked through the hallway that opened up to the main bar. She glanced around, looking for the one person who she needed. Mal didn't see her but walked up and sat down at the bar anyway. She quickly ordered her drink and picked up her phone. No new messages to hint where on the Isle Hadley was. Moments later the drink was placed in front of her. She looked at it for a while, debating her continued spiral into non sobriety and then took her first sip. It was as good as she remembered. Better even since she hadn't drank in a long time. Aside from her shot of tequila the night before, it had been years.

"Well if it isn't little Maley," a voice rang out from behind her. Mal tensed up, recognizing the voice before she even turned around.

"There you are, Hadley. It figures we would have the same taste in dives." Mal smirked.

Hadley smirked right back at her sister, "I never come to this dump. I just heard you were here so I came to find you."

Mal took a deep breath in before letting it out once more, "what exactly is it that you want from me, sis?" She said the last word as if it was dripping with poison.

"Mostly? To fuck with you." Hadley laughed at herself.

Mal finished her drink and ordered another. Dealing with Hadley would require a lot of alcohol.

"So you came all the way to fuck with me? That's your master plan? Literally just mess with your sister?" Mal arches her eyebrow.

Hadley laughed once again, "of course not."

"Any chance you can go home and leave me alone? Mal asked, fully aware of what the answer would be.

"That's really not going to happen." Hadley looked over at the bartender and raised her hand, silently ordering some shots. "How about we do some tequila shots?"

"I can't, I'm sober," Mal's words trailed off as she remembered that she had destroyed all her hard work.

"You're drinking..." Hadley said.

Mal chewed on her lip for a moment, beginning to feel guilty about her trip to alcohol land. She wasn't going to let Hadley know that though. "I mean I'm still sober and not drunk yet and shouldn't get drunk because I have a daughter."

"How about, you take 5 shots and I'll tell you exactly while I'm here," Hadley handed Mal the first shot to down.

"Do you think if I get drunk, I won't remember what you tell me?" Mal asked.

"No, I just hate to do shots alone." Hadley grinned, throwing her first shot back and slamming the glass back down.

Mal rolled her eyes and downed the first shot. The tequila burned like it always did but she enjoyed the feeling it brought to her.

By the fourth shot and the two drinks she had before, Mal was feeling pretty tipsy. "One more," she slurred a little.

Hadley handed her the last shot and watched as she took it.

"Mal!" Both girls turned when they heard the yelling from across the room.

Uma walked up to them and immediately yanked the empty shotglass away. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out what Hadley is up to," Mal replied matter of factly.

"And you threw away your sobriety to do it?" Uma demanded.

"Sobriety?" Hadley asked.

"Yeah, she's been sober for over 3 years. Or at least she was." Uma pulled Mal up until she was standing next to her.

"Shut up, Uma. I was a drug addict not a drunk. It's different." Mal explained as her head spun.

"No, it's not." Uma told her. "What is wrong with you?"

"I didn't know but she was drinking before I found her," Hadley shrugged. "She's an adult and not my responsibility."

"Yeah because asking you to be any kind of big sister is just too much to ask from someone like you," Uma retorted, turning to leave. "Let's go Mal. I gotta get you home to Evie."

"She's supposed to tell me her plan!" Mal protested.

"She can tell you later. Goodbye, Hadley." Uma sneered, finally managing to get Mal to leave the bar.

—

Mal and Uma hadn't even made it to the bridge before Mal started yelling.

"What is wrong with you? Why did you stop her?" The blonde stumbled as the words left her. Everything was spinning. "I need to sit."

"Mal, does your sobriety mean nothing to you? What is going on with you?" Uma fired back as Mal collapsed to the ground.

"I was a drug addict! Not a drunk. I can drink." Mal spit.

"You and I both know they are connected. Over 3 years down the drain. What is Evie going to say? What is your daughter going to say?" Uma asked her, trying to calm the conversation from yelling.

"Don't bring Macie into this, Shrimpy!" Mal all by growled at her other woman.

"You've clearly lost your mind," Uma told her. "I need to get you home."

"I can get home myself. You're not my girlfriend." Mal attempted to push herself back up to the standing position, failing miserably.

"Fine. You want to destroy your life. You go right ahead. Goodbye Mal." Uma took one last look at the broken dragon before she turned around and walked off.

Mal had no idea how long she sat there. An hour? Maybe 2? Long enough for the world to settle itself again so she could stand without falling. She looked at her phone. It was 5:15 in the morning. The sun would be rising soon. Which meant Macie would wake up in the next hour or so.

Mal started making her way home again. She could feel the alcohol leaving her body and by the time she reached her apartment door, she was all but sober.

—

Evie woke with a start when she heard the bedroom door open. She looked over and saw a very ragged Mal entering the room. "Where have you been?" Evie could smell the tequila from where she sat.

"I went to find Hadley but Uma interrupted us." Mal headed to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth before Evie figured out what she had been doing.

"You smell like tequila and cigarettes."

"Damn," Mal whispered under her breath. "Yeah I found Hadley in a bar. She spilt some of her drink on me."

"You're lying," Evie countered.

"I'm not. She was really drunk. I couldn't get anything out of her," Mal stripped down as she spoke from the bathroom.

"Come kiss me then," Evie challenged, knowing full well that Mal was lying.

"Baby, I really need to shower okay? I have to be at work in an hour." Mal tried. She knew she couldn't kiss Evie without her tasting the remaining alcohol.

"Right. Okay then," Evie said cautiously. "Enjoy your shower. Don't forget to brush your teeth so I can't taste the tequila."

Mal took a deep breath in before letting out a long sigh. She reached over and turned on the water in the shower and grabbed her toothbrush while it heated up. She brushed her teeth until she was completely certain all remnants of the evening were gone. She didn't really know why she was lying and hiding the fact that she had been drinking. Uma was bound to tell Evie anyway.

Evie sat on the bed as she listened to the water pour. She heard Mal brush her teeth for longer than was needed. That was more than enough proof that her girlfriend had been up to stuff she shouldn't. Evie felt stuck. Confronting Mal would most likely push her in the wrong direction but keeping it a secret that she knew and watching Mal spiral would eventually push Evie back to drugs.

She couldn't understand what happened. They had been happy. Mal was so proud of her sobriety. The blonde wasn't one to talk about her feelings though. So while Evie thought they were happy, Mal could have easily been thinking something else.

Evie heard the water shut off and moments later, Mal appeared wrapped in her towel. "I have to get ready for work. Will you drop Macie at daycare today?"

Evie nodded, "yeah, of course."

The room was silent as Mal changed into her scrubs, her head pounding from the shots she had taken so quickly.

"Are you going to NA tonight?" Evie asked.

Mal nodded, "yeah but the early meeting. I should be home earlier tonight."

"Good," Evie replied back. She didn't really know what to say.

"Okay, I'll see you later," Mal walked over and kissed Evie. "Give Macie a kiss from me."

"Will do. Bye," Evie waved as the door shut behind Mal. She took a deep breath to steady herself before laying back down. She had every intention of laying there until Macie appeared. There was no desire to start the day. It was already off to a shitty start.

—-

"She's lying to me, Diz." Evie sat on the couch of her pseudo sister.

"It's possible she was telling the truth. I mean Hadley seems like the type of person who would get drunk off tequila and spilling it," Dizzy shrugged. She placed her hands on her even growing bump.

"I don't know what to do," Evie felt a tear fall down her cheek.

"Talk to her. Or get Uma to talk to her. Then you don't have to be the bad guy." Dizzy suggested.

"Can we just change the subject? How's my handsome nephew growing?" Evie reached out and ran her fingers tips over Dizzy tiny bump.

"He's good. Growing like he should. In the perfect percentile for 28 weeks." Dizzy stood up to grab the latest sonogram off the fridge.

Evie took the pictures when she was offered them a moment later, "I can't wait to spoil him!"

"Do you think you and Mal will have kids?" Dizzy asked, returning to her spot next to Evie.

"We have a kid. Well she does," Evie told her.

"I mean together. One you guys have together," Dizzy tried again.

Evie was taken aback by the question. It certainly wasn't anything she had thought about. Her and Mal had only been together for a few months and the thought of having a baby was years off. "I...I don't know honestly. Macie is pretty great. I guess maybe, eventually, a sibling would be good. It's years off though, Dizzy."

Dizzy shrugged in response, "I just think a little Evie would be adorable."

The older woman just rolled her eyes, "how about you just grow that little man in there and let me worry about mini me?"

"I guess so," Dizzy laughed.

"I have to get going, kid. I need to pick up Macie from daycare," Evie said, standing up, with Dizzy following. "I love you."

The girls embraced in a hug for a few moments before pulling apart.

"I love you too," Dizzy smiled, "and talk to Mal okay?"

Evie nodded before turning and walking out the door.


End file.
